Visa Is Testing Stablecoin Bank Settlements in Africa

Visa is preparing to test stablecoin‑based settlements between African banks and its global payment network, a move that could introduce blockchain infrastructure into one of the world’s most digitally active payments regions. Company leaders say pilot programs are expected “very, very soon,” signaling that stablecoins may become part of Visa’s backend settlement flows across the continent.

Unlike retail crypto initiatives, the effort focuses primarily on bank settlement, treasury operations, and cross‑border transfers—areas where traditional banking rails can be slow, expensive, or constrained by liquidity. If successful, the pilots could show how stablecoins function as a settlement layer for real‑world payment networks.

Visa’s plan: stablecoins for bank‑to‑network settlement

The upcoming pilots will test how approved stablecoins can move funds between financial institutions and Visa’s network infrastructure. Rather than replacing existing payment systems, the goal is to digitize the settlement layer that sits behind them.

Key elements of the plan include:

• Bank settlement pilots: Visa is preparing trials with African banks to settle transaction obligations using stablecoins.
• Initial rollout in select markets: Stablecoin transactions are expected to begin in at least one African country before expanding to others.
• Integration with Visa Direct: The technology could allow businesses to send stablecoin-backed transfers that ultimately reach bank accounts or card‑linked accounts through Visa’s network.

The approach treats stablecoins as a programmable digital dollar used for clearing and settlement, rather than as an investment asset.

Why Visa thinks stablecoins could matter in Africa

Visa executives believe stablecoins could become a meaningful part of Africa’s payments infrastructure because they address several persistent financial challenges.

First, cross‑border payments across African markets are often slow and costly, relying on multiple correspondent banks and limited liquidity. Stablecoins can move across blockchain networks quickly and may simplify these settlement chains.

Second, corporate treasury management—the process of moving and holding funds across multiple countries—can be complex in markets with capital controls or currency volatility. Stablecoins pegged to major currencies like the U.S. dollar offer a digital instrument for managing liquidity.

Third, the regulatory landscape is slowly evolving, with licensing regimes or regulatory sandboxes emerging in several African countries. That makes practical payment use cases more feasible than they were only a few years ago.

The partnerships behind the initiative

Visa is not building the system alone. The company is working with several infrastructure partners to connect traditional financial institutions with blockchain rails.

Yellow Card
The pan‑African fintech provides stablecoin infrastructure and regulatory coverage across multiple countries. Visa and Yellow Card are exploring stablecoin use cases such as cross‑border payments and treasury management in markets where the fintech is licensed to operate.

Aquanow
Visa has also partnered with digital‑asset infrastructure company Aquanow to expand stablecoin settlement capabilities across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA). The integration allows banks and payment firms to settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC on Visa’s network.

Together, these partnerships help bridge the gap between traditional payment networks and blockchain‑based settlement systems.

Why Africa is a logical testing ground

Africa’s payments ecosystem is unusually well suited to experimentation with new financial rails.

The continent is already the global epicenter of mobile money, with digital wallets widely used for everyday payments. In 2025, more than $2 trillion flowed through mobile‑money systems worldwide, and Sub‑Saharan Africa accounted for the majority of new accounts and usage growth.

Transaction volumes illustrate the scale of the opportunity:

• About $1.43 trillion in mobile‑money transactions occurred in Africa in 2025, roughly 66% of the global total.
• The region hosts over a billion registered mobile‑money accounts and hundreds of millions of active users.

Because digital wallets, agent networks, and mobile payments are already widely adopted, stablecoins could slot into an ecosystem where users and businesses are accustomed to digital financial tools, even if the blockchain infrastructure operates mostly behind the scenes.

Part of a larger shift toward stablecoin settlement

Visa’s Africa pilots are part of a broader industry trend: major payment networks and fintech companies are experimenting with stablecoins as settlement infrastructure rather than consumer cryptocurrencies.

Across the payments sector, companies are testing blockchain rails to:

• reduce settlement delays
• enable near‑instant cross‑border transfers
• support 24/7 payment processing
• simplify liquidity management for global businesses

Visa’s expansion of stablecoin settlement across the broader CEMEA region reflects growing demand from banks and payment providers for faster, lower‑friction settlement options.

What remains uncertain

Despite the momentum, many details of the African pilots are still unknown. Visa has not publicly disclosed:

• which specific banks will participate
• the countries selected for the first pilots
• transaction volumes or timelines beyond early testing

For now, the project is best understood as a test of stablecoins as payment infrastructure—one that could reshape how funds move behind the scenes in digital payments if it proves reliable and scalable.

If successful, Africa’s highly mobile‑driven payments ecosystem could become one of the first large regions where traditional finance and blockchain settlement systems operate side by side.