Visa Opens Settlement Data to Blockchain Lenders as Stablecoin Card Volume Jumps Nearly 200%

Visa is opening up its settlement data to blockchain-based lenders, letting them combine VisaNet transaction records with onchain activity to underwrite and finance stablecoin-linked card programs, as the company reports that payment volume moving through those programs has jumped nearly 200% year over year. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now run on Visa’s network, and the company says its overall stablecoin settlement volume has crossed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than fifteen times where it stood a year ago. The idea behind the new data-sharing arrangement is straightforward even if the plumbing is not: fintechs issuing stablecoin cards need working capital to cover settlement obligations before customer repayments land, and lenders willing to finance that gap can now use Visa’s own transaction history alongside onchain records to judge creditworthiness and price the loan, rather than relying on incomplete or self-reported data from the borrower alone. Visa has already been testing a version of this model with Credit Coop, a blockchain-based lending protocol that uses smart contracts to automate funding, collateral management, and repayment for card issuers and other onchain businesses; the company says that relationship has financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023, spanning upward of 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayments with no defaults reported across participating facilities. The move builds on Visa’s Stablecoin Platform, launched in July, which gives banks and fintechs a single environment to mint, redeem, and move stablecoins starting with its Open USD offering — and it signals that Visa sees onchain lending less as a niche crypto-native product and more as infrastructure it wants sitting underneath an increasingly large share of its everyday card business. For a payments giant that still clears trillions of dollars a year through traditional rails, tying its own settlement data into blockchain credit markets is a notable bet that stablecoins are becoming permanent plumbing rather than a passing trend. Anyone looking to understand how stablecoins, onchain settlement, and blockchain-based lending actually function can find foundational explainers in coin680’s Bitcoin Academy.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Stablecoins and onchain lending products carry counterparty, smart contract, and regulatory risks; always research thoroughly before using any financial product.