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Visa partners with USDC to create Global Stablecoin Network

PAR002_123 • Dec 03, 2020

Visa partners with USDC to create Global Stablecoin payment network connecting 60 million merchants

VISA USDC Logos
Financial technology firm Circle, the creator of USDC a fully-reserved, regulated, digital dollar stablecoin, today announced it's partnership with credit card giant Visa, linking Visa's vast network of 60 million merchants to the powerful functionality of the USD Coin and Circle’s global customer base. 

The partnership is the latest evidence that the credit card giant sees Stablecoins as a crucial part of the future of money. Over the past year, Visa has become the card network of choice for digital currency wallets with over 25 approved card programs connected to them. While Visa itself won’t custody the USDC Stablecoin, the partnership will see Circle working with Visa to help select Visa credit card issuers and start integrating the USDC software into their platforms to send and receive USDC payments anywhere that accepts Visa. 

Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa estimates that $120 Trillion in business to business payments are made using cheque and wire transfer worldwide annually, costing as much as $50 per transaction regardless of the size, while Circle's platform has supported over 100 million transactions worth tens of billions of dollars, with nearly 10 million retail customers and over a thousand businesses. USDC recently announced partnerships with the Blockchain networks Algorand, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar, which facilitate global money transfers that are near instantaneous and a fraction of the current cost (Algorand transaction fees are less than $0.001 per transaction). 

This move could potentially significantly lower the barrier to entry for many into a secure regulated monetary system, increasing financial inclusion for millions of unbanked consumers and bring Stablecoins incredible functionality and efficiency to businesses worldwide. 


Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle




Visa and Circle believe its vast network of merchants could choose to use this nearly instant alternative form of payment enabling businesses and consumers to spend USDC anywhere Visa is accepted.


Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle commented,


"The collaboration between Circle and Visa represents an important development in the support and integration of mainstream payments platforms with stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure, and will offer significant opportunities to expand their use in commerce, payments and financial applications. A global e-commerce marketplace will be able to identify USDC compatible wallets in their region that have approved Visa card programs connected to them. The marketplace will be able to provide their sellers with the option to receive payouts in USDC to one of these Visa partner wallets. The new payout feature will significantly accelerate funds flows, with near-instant settlement and availability, while at the same time reducing transaction fees for businesses, marketplaces, creators, sellers and suppliers.'



Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa



Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa commented. 


“We continue to think of Visa as a network of networks. Blockchain networks and stablecoins, like USDC, are just additional networks. So we think that there’s a significant value that Visa can provide to our clients, enabling them to access them and enabling them to spend at our merchants.”



Demand for Stablecoins has increased exponentially in 2020 with many businesses seeking faster, lower-cost, payments and settlement. This partnership has the potential to reduce costs for businesses worldwide and that in turn will ultimately return Trillions of dollars in value back to the economy.


A Circle spokesperson said the companies were targeting a 2021 launch.





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