Visa, a global leader in digital payments, is taking another significant step toward modernizing cross-border money movement via blockchain rails, striking a stablecoin partnership with Aquanow.
The payment company Visa has partnered with Aquanow, a digital asset infrastructure provider, to expand stablecoin settlement capabilities across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA).
The integration of Aquanow’s infrastructure with Visa’s trusted global technology will enable issuers and acquirers across the region to settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC, reducing costs, speeding up settlement times, and simplifying operational workflows.
As financial institutions increasingly seek faster and more cost-effective cross-border solutions, stablecoins are emerging as a powerful tool for digitizing backend settlement processes.
Visa has been at the forefront of this shift: in 2023, it became one of the first major payment networks to pilot stablecoin settlement in USDC, a program that has since grown to more than $2.5 billion in annualized volume. The company significantly accelerated its stablecoin initiatives recently, with stablecoin payouts in Visa Direct, and overall addition of more stablecoins and blockchains to its platform.
The partnership with Aquanow marks the next phase of this expansion, enabling 365-day settlement and reducing reliance on legacy systems that depend on multiple intermediaries and limited operating hours.
“By harnessing the power of stablecoins and pairing them with our trusted global technology, we are enabling financial institutions in CEMEA to experience faster and simpler settlements,” said Godfrey Sullivan, Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA at Visa. “Our partnership with Aquanow is another key step in modernizing the back-end rails of payments, reducing reliance on traditional systems with multiple intermediaries, and preparing institutions for the future of money movement.”
Phil Sham, CEO of Aquanow, noted: “Visa’s reliable global network has long moved money securely and efficiently. Together, Visa and Aquanow are unlocking new ways for institutions to participate in the digital economy, leveraging stablecoin technology to settle with the speed and transparency of the internet”.
