Visa stablecoin card and onchain credit expansion

Visa’s stablecoin-linked card business has accelerated into a broader payments-and-credit effort: the company reported that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were live globally in its fiscal second quarter of 2026 and that payment volume across those programs rose nearly 200% year over year. Separately, Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, a rise of more than 15 times year over year. The announcement underlines a distinction between card payment volume (consumer-initiated purchases) and settlement volume (funds exchanged between Visa and program operators), and the $20 billion figure is an annualized projection rather than a statement that $20 billion has already been processed in full this year.

To address working-capital gaps for new programs, Visa is pairing VisaNet settlement data with blockchain lending infrastructure so lenders can evaluate and finance card programs using both off-chain settlement records and onchain transaction history. An early operating example is Credit Coop, which the disclosures say has financed roughly $2.5–$2.7 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023 across thousands of borrowing and repayment events and reports no defaults. Visa also said participating programs have reduced borrowing costs by up to 30% based on the combined data and automation.

Issuer-side cases demonstrate the model in action. Rain has used a Credit Coop revolving facility since August 2023 to fund daily Visa settlement obligations; Visa attributed about $2 billion of the reported cumulative financing to Rain and said Rain’s arrangement generated at least $1.58 million in interest. Karta, a U.S. program launched under Rain’s BIN, moved from a smaller revolving facility toward larger institutional financing, citing a $140 million package that included equity and a $125 million institutional facility. Other programs named in the disclosures include Moto and Xplace, though facility sizes and rates were not disclosed.

Visa is also developing just-in-time settlement funding: under the planned approach, a daily settlement file would trigger a stablecoin disbursement that matches the exact net amount owed, potentially shortening borrowing windows from days to hours and allowing lenders to better align exposure with actual obligations. The model depends on accurate settlement data, reliable smart contracts and stablecoin liquidity; potential risks listed in the disclosures include depegging, contract vulnerabilities, borrower failures and regulatory change. Visa emphasized that it is investing across the stablecoin stack—blockchains, wallets, infrastructure and applications—while expanding pilots, regional reach and the set of participating issuers and lenders.