Stablecoins move into payment infrastructure

Visa says trust remains key to adoption.

Financial institutions are moving from testing stablecoins to integrating them into payment infrastructure, as banks, fintech firms and payment networks look for faster and more efficient ways to move money.

“Every institution that moves money will need a stablecoin strategy,” Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies for the Asia-Pacific region at Visa Worldwide Pte. Ltd., told Asian Banking & Finance.

He said institutions are evaluating stablecoins for settlement, treasury operations and cross-border payments.

Sanghavi said the industry should focus less on standalone blockchain projects and more on modernising money movement infrastructure.

“The real value comes when stablecoins are embedded into existing rails—bridging blockchains with established payment networks that deliver scale, reach, and reliability,” he said in an emailed reply to questions.

Many financial institutions are treating stablecoins as an extension of existing payment networks rather than a replacement for them. The approach lets banks add capabilities whilst continuing to rely on infrastructure customers already trust.

Sanghavi said stablecoins are most effective when they reduce friction in payments, allowing money to move as easily as sending a message and providing access to transfers seven days a week.

To support that shift, banks will need to integrate custody, wallet, and compliance functions into their existing systems.

Trust remains key to adoption. Sanghavi said financial institutions should invest in fraud detection, security and compliance to ensure stablecoin payments are as safe and reliable as traditional payment methods.

“Ultimately, building trust in a new payment rail is about making it feel familiar, ensuring stablecoins operate with the same reliability, security and seamless experience people expect from any other form of payment,” he said.

Visa is integrating stablecoins into services such as settlement, card issuance, and money transfers. Consumers could use stablecoins at more than 175 million merchants worldwide that accept Visa, Sanghavi said.

The company now supports more than 160 stablecoin card programmes globally, with transaction volume almost tripling year on year in the second quarter.

Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $7b annualised run rate as of March, Sanghavi said.

He said Asia is more complex since payment providers must navigate multiple regulatory systems. He added that firms need infrastructure that could adapt to different rules whilst maintaining consistent security and compliance standards.

“The institutions that succeed will be those that treat regulatory diversity as a design principle, not a constraint,” he said.