Visa Direct Stablecoin Payouts Pilot Speeds Up Access to Funds for Creators & Gig Workers
New Visa Direct pilot sends USD-backed stablecoin payouts directly to stablecoin wallets, giving creators and gig workers faster access to their funds.
At Web Summit today, Visa Inc. (V) announced a breakthrough pilot allowing businesses and platforms to send payouts directly to recipients' stablecoin wallets. For businesses using Visa Direct, payouts can be funded in fiat currency, while recipients can choose to receive their funds in USD-backed stablecoins like USDC, transforming the speed and accessibility of global payouts. This innovation expands the reach of Visa Direct by providing creators, freelancers, and marketplaces with a stable store of value and faster access to funds - even in markets facing currency volatility or limited banking infrastructure.
"Launching stablecoin payouts is about enabling truly universal access to money in minutes - not days - for anyone, anywhere in the world," said Chris Newkirk, President, Commercial & Money Movement Solutions, Visa. "Whether it's a creator building a digital brand, a business reaching new global markets or a freelancer working across borders, everyone benefits from faster, more flexible money movement."
According to new research from Monetized: Visa 2025Creator Economy Report, faster access to funds is ranked as the top reason digital content creators prefer using digital payment methods. Fifty-seven percent (57%) cited instant access as their leading motivation for choosing digital payment methods to get paid for content creation work.
This latest pilot advances Visa's innovation in stablecoin-powered payments. At SIBOS in September, Visa Direct announced a pilot program enabling businesses to pre-fund payouts using stablecoins, together, these pilots unlock access and greater financial flexibility for Visa's clients and for millions of consumers around the world.
Visa Direct Stablecoin Payout Highlights:
- Continuous convenience: Consumers, creators and freelancers will be able to access payouts in stablecoins with near-instant speed.
- Borderless currency for the digital age: Stablecoins can unlock access for those in underbanked regions, or where USD bank accounts are not available.
- Increased transparency: Every transaction is permanently logged on the blockchain, supporting auditability, compliance, and receipt confirmation.
- Expanding access: The pilot launches with select partners, with broader rollout planned for the second half of 2026 as client demand grows and regulatory frameworks advance.
FAQ
Q: What is the Visa Direct stablecoin payout pilot?
- Visa Direct's latest pilot will allow platforms and businesses in the US to send payouts directly to users' or workers' or employees' stablecoin wallets, instead of sending to a card or bank account.
- Funds are delivered in USD-backed stablecoins, such as USDC.
Q: What are the advantages of stablecoin payouts?
- Near-instant, cross-border payouts, eliminating banking hours and cross-border lags.
- Consistent, USD-pegged value helps establish predictability.
- Every transfer is transparently recorded on blockchain.
- Flexible access for consumers to: hold, spend, or convert their stablecoins.
Q: Who is this for?
- Ideal for international businesses, marketplaces, creator/gig economy platforms, fintechs, and recipients with a compatible stablecoin wallet and who meet KYC/AML checks.
Q: How is this different from Visa's September announcement?
- In September, Visa Direct announced its stablecoin pre-funding pilot: letting businesses fund Visa Direct payouts using stablecoins instead of only fiat, a back-end treasury innovation.
- Today's pilot enables payouts to end recipients, like consumers, in stablecoins -putting digital dollars directly in recipients' wallets.
Q: Do FIs and companies funding these payouts fund in stablecoin or fiat?
- Clients fund payouts in fiat currency.
Q: When will more partners have access?
- Visa is in the process of onboarding select partners. Wider access is projected for 2026, with Visa encouraging clients to express interest as global rollout ramps up.
- Visa continues to lead the evolution of digital payments - bridging the power of blockchain with the reliability and reach of the world's leading digital payments network.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE:V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.
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