Visa is making a bold move to modernize global payments. The company has expanded its stablecoin-based settlement across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) through a new partnership with crypto infrastructure provider Aquanow.
The goal is simple: faster, cheaper, and always-on cross-border payments. By settling transactions in approved stablecoins like USDC, Visa is cutting out operational friction, reducing costs, and enabling 24/7 settlement, something legacy banking rails still struggle to deliver.
According to Godfrey Sullivan, Visa’s head of product and solutions for CEMEA, banks and payment companies are demanding better alternatives. Stablecoins digitize the back end of money movement, streamlining settlement workflows and removing the limitations of traditional business-hour processing.
This shift also reduces reliance on outdated payment infrastructure packed with intermediaries. Visa is positioning stablecoins as a core layer of next-generation financial plumbing, built for institutions that need speed, efficiency, and global reach.
Stablecoins have come a long way. What started as tools for moving funds between crypto exchanges are now onchain equivalents of fiat currency, increasingly used for institutional payments and settlement well beyond crypto-native use cases.
That trend is accelerating.
This week, Deutsche Börse announced plans to integrate EURAU, a euro-backed stablecoin from AllUnity, into its custody platform before expanding across other services. The exchange has previously worked with Circle and Societe Generale, signaling growing confidence in blockchain-based settlement.
Regulators are still catching up. Basel Committee chair Erik Thedéen acknowledged that current crypto risk weightings—set at 1,250%, may need to be revisited. Meanwhile, Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden expects UK rules to evolve alongside U.S. regulation, pointing to coordinated global oversight as stablecoins gain traction.
The takeaway? Stablecoins are moving from the edges of crypto into the core of global finance—and Visa’s latest move shows that the future of cross-border payments is faster, cheaper, and built on blockchain.
