Visa announces the launch of a new stablecoin platform! Seamlessly integrates OUSD and USDC, with more than 200 million merchants gaining instant settlement

According to an exclusive report by Fortune, global payments giant Visa officially announced the launch of a new “Visa Stablecoin Platform,” aiming to provide enterprise-grade stablecoin settlement services for more than 200 million merchants worldwide and 15k financial institutions. The platform’s inaugural lineup will support the new stablecoin OUSD as well as assets such as USDC and USDG, enabling institutions to seamlessly handle stablecoins within existing traditional finance infrastructure, achieving instant and low-cost transactions.
(Backgrounder: Visa report: AI agent payments move into practical stage; stablecoins are better suited for high-frequency small payments)
(Additional background: Visa, along with dozens of giants including BlackRock, releases a new type of stablecoin Open USD (OUSD)! Circle’s stock price drops 13%; CEO fires back: USDC is still the institutional first choice)

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• Bridge traditional finance and blockchain to enable real-time settlement
• First launch supports OUSD to expand the stablecoin lineup
• Payment giants gather as competition in the stablecoin track heats up

Traditional finance giants are accelerating their adoption of the underlying technology of crypto, and a payments revolution is quietly underway. On July 16, 2026, Taipei time, according to an exclusive report by overseas media outlet Fortune, global payments network titan Visa officially announced the launch of a new “Visa Stablecoin Platform” (Visa Stablecoin Platform). This is an enterprise-grade internal system built specifically for banks and fintech companies, designed to let institutions seamlessly process stablecoin assets within their existing Visa payment and treasury management workflows.

Visa processes up to $15 trillion in massive payments every year, and in the past it has also accumulated billions of dollars in stablecoin settlement experience. Now, Visa wants to further expand its scale through this platform and solidify its dominant position in the global payments arena.

Bridge traditional finance and blockchain to enable real-time settlement

For financial institutions, the platform offers an end-to-end integration solution. The key point is no longer just simple “access” to stablecoins, but rather enabling stablecoins to perfectly integrate with existing treasury settlement, cash flow, and traditional banking infrastructure.

For 200 million merchants at large, stablecoins bring the excellent advantages of real-time settlement and extremely low costs, while also providing clear and nearly tamper-proof transaction records through blockchain technology. Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s Global Growth lead, said: “The core of this service lies in hiding technical complexity, so customers can focus on the payment experience.” He emphasized that stablecoins will become the core of future financial infrastructure, and that Visa has already been laying the groundwork for nearly five years—now it is simply moving into the next phase.

First launch supports OUSD to expand the stablecoin lineup

In terms of supported assets, Visa’s stablecoin platform will launch with OUSD (Open USD) integrated. This is a brand-new stablecoin introduced by Open Standard, a financial giant alliance formed just two weeks ago. With Visa as a key partner of the alliance, Visa views OUSD as an important piece in expanding the stablecoin lineup. In addition, the platform will continue to support Circle’s USDC and Paxos’s USDG.

The report notes that the platform will serve as the “umbrella” for all of Visa’s existing stablecoin services, covering all past settlement functions. Looking back, Visa became the first payment network to settle transactions using USDC back in March 2020, and it also launched a stablecoin settlement plan in December of last year—an industry first for major global payment companies— which is already operating across multiple blockchains, with settlement volume growing rapidly.

Payment giants gather as competition in the stablecoin track heats up

With stablecoins’ explosive growth in recent years, mainstream payment networks can no longer ignore the massive trend changing perceptions of fund flow, and market competition has become increasingly intense. Besides Visa, its biggest competitor Mastercard also launched last month a settlement service covering six USD stablecoins, and through strategies such as partnering with MoonPay and joining Paxos’s Global Dollar network, it has actively moved to seize market share. Meanwhile, American Express has also partnered with Open Standard to jointly推动 OUSD.

Facing fierce moves from rivals, Visa hopes this new platform will lower the adoption barrier for customers, allowing stablecoins to truly blend into everyday payments and treasury management, further unleashing its powerful “network effects.” This is undoubtedly a historic milestone as traditional finance embraces Web3.