Visa Direct launched commercial USDC stablecoin prefunding on October 15, 2026, partnering with Inyo Global as its initial processing partner. The service enables fintechs and money transmitters across 180 countries to deposit cross-border payout funds 24/7 in near real time via existing APIs, overcoming conventional banking cutoffs. This commercial rollout follows 2025 pilot trials and comes as Visa reports over $20 billion in annualized stablecoin settlement activity.
Commercial rollout with Inyo Global
- ▪Inyo Global supports domestic and cross-border payouts across more than 180 countries and manages stablecoin compliance across jurisdictions through its dedicated InyoX arm
- ▪Inyo Global integrated Visa Direct USDC prefunding directly into Inyo's existing application programming interfaces, allowing clients to enable stablecoin funding without altering existing technical connections
- ▪Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, stated that the commercial launch of USDC prefunding on October 15, 2026, represents a shift from initial stablecoin testing to live business implementations
- ▪Visa Direct moved its USDC stablecoin prefunding service into commercial production on October 15, 2026, naming payment infrastructure provider Inyo Global as its first rollout partner
Benefits of continuous prefunding
- ▪Robson Dantas, Inyo Global co-founder and chief product officer, stated that round-the-clock stablecoin prefunding gives fintechs and money transmitters a continuous funding method using familiar payment interfaces
- ▪Continuous stablecoin prefunding allows cross-border payment providers to hold leaner balance reserves by topping up funds as transaction demand arises rather than relying on bank settlement windows
- ▪USDC stablecoin prefunding enables eligible payment businesses to deposit liquidity for cross-border payouts 24/7 in near real time, bypassing traditional commercial banking operating hours
Visa's earlier stablecoin initiatives
- ▪Visa initiated stablecoin prefunding pilots under Visa Direct in September 2025 and introduced a separate stablecoin payout program for gig workers and creators in November 2025
- ▪Visa reported that its stablecoin-linked card ecosystem expanded to over 160 global programs, with total annualized stablecoin settlement activity exceeding $20 billion across supported networks
- ▪Visa tested a seven-day USDC settlement trial with Lloyds involving $750,000 in payment obligations that reached Visa in under an hour, including over a weekend during the trial
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