Visa Direct brings stablecoin funding into production
Hey Payments Fanatic!
Stablecoins have been making headlines for years, but the real test is whether businesses can actually use them to move money. Visa is taking another step in that direction.
Visa Direct is moving its stablecoin-enabled prefunding capabilities from pilot to commercial production, with Inyo Global becoming the first provider to bring the service live. Eligible businesses can now use USDC to fund cross-border payouts in near real time, rather than relying solely on traditional funding windows.
The idea is simple but important: businesses get more flexibility to fund payments around the clock, while accessing Visa Direct’s network across more than 180 countries through Inyo’s existing platform and APIs.
As Visa Direct’s Global Head, Vira Platonova, puts it, stablecoins are entering their next chapter: adoption. And moving from pilots to real commercial use is where things start to get interesting.
In the meantime, here’s what else is happening in payments 👇
See you on Monday!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 Europe has no shortage of domestic payment champions - from Wero in France (48M users) and Bizum in Spain (32M) to Swish in Sweden, used by 99% of the population. But these systems remain fragmented across national markets. The bigger question is whether Europe can connect them into a unified payment network that offers a real alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
NEWS
🇺🇸 Mastercard and BVNK launch a global money platform connecting fiat currencies and stablecoins. The platform enables banks, FinTechs and businesses to offer multi-currency accounts, currency conversion and global payouts through a single API. Read more
🇪🇺 Noah secures MiCA CASP and PSD2 payment institution licences in the EU. The approvals let Noah offer stablecoin and fiat payments across all 27 EU states. Noah now holds more than 40 licences, registrations and approvals.
🇨🇲 dLocal and Western Union expand their partnership to cover remittance payouts in Africa. The expansion starts with a live payout corridor in Cameroon. Recipients can receive remittances directly into supported local wallets via regulated local partners.
🌐 MRC and Checkout.com offer an intermediate transaction optimization course for eCommerce payment professionals. It covers dynamic retry, tokenization, and alternate routing tactics. Members pay USD $75 and nonmembers pay USD $150, plus applicable taxes.
🇮🇹 Norauto Italia goes live with Klarna as a payment option at checkout. Shoppers can choose Klarna and split the cost over time. The Klarna app lets users manage payments, track orders, and receive reminders.
🇬🇧 Klarna goes live as a payment option on M&S.com and the M&S app. Shoppers can split Fashion, Home and Beauty purchases into three interest free payments. The plan carries
🇺🇸 Visa Direct moves its stablecoin capabilities from pilot to production, with Inyo Global as the first enabler. Inyo clients can now prefund cross border payouts with USDC in near real time. The platform supports domestic and international payouts across more than 180 countries.
🇸🇬 StraitsX partners with Visa to take its stablecoin card programs to over 100 markets. The deal extends its card issuing infrastructure beyond Asia. StraitsX reached annualised card GTV above US$6 billion.
🌎 Damisa and PPRO partner on stablecoin-powered cross-border payments. PPRO uses Damisa's network to move funds across borders the same day. The rollout started in Latin America and now extends to more markets.
🇶🇦 PayLater partners with Visa to bring Cybersource into its payments infrastructure. Qatar's first licensed BNPL provider gains Visa's fraud prevention and transaction control tools. The deal follows an MoU signed at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026.
🇸🇬 KPay secures a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS, expanding its payments ecosystem in Singapore. The licence lets KPay offer merchant acquisition plus domestic and cross border transfers. KPay serves more than 10,000 Singapore merchants.
🇸🇬 Payoneer Checkout launches in Singapore, helping businesses turn global demand into revenue. Powered by Stripe, it lets eligible firms accept international payments via their own online stores. Supported methods include cards and digital wallets.
🇬🇧 emerchantpay and LoopingOne enable digital transactions for Motorhome Depot in the UK. The setup gives Motorhome Depot seamless digital transactions and same day seller payouts. emerchantpay published the project as an online payments success story.
🇺🇸 Clair launches Clair Connect to expand payroll-linked on-demand pay across everyday apps. The solution enables banks, FinTechs and workforce platforms to offer workers access to earned wages without building their own payroll integrations. Read more
🌐 Tether Capital invests in AIsa to push into AI payments and programmable money. AIsa lets AI agents access and pay for data, software, and computing through one interface. Usage is billed in fiat or stablecoins, with business spending limits.
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