Credit card giant Visa (V) says it is trialing the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments on its Visa Direct real-time payments platform.
Businesses can now move money across borders free of the requirement to park large fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars in advance, said Visa.
“The goal: reduce friction, unlock faster access to liquidity and give financial institutions more flexibility in how they manage global payouts,” said the credit card company in a news release.
Businesses must pre-fund their Visa Direct account with stablecoins instead of dollars or other currencies, which Visa will then count as “money in the bank.”
The deposited stablecoins will be available for businesses to use immediately.
Visa, like other traditional financial institutions, is accelerating its plans for stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar or price of gold.
Stablecoins are growing in popularity and acceptance as governments around the world move to regulate them and clarify terms of use.
Visa’s stock has risen 8% this year to trade at $340.16 U.S. per share.
