Visa Launches USDC-Powered Cross-Border Payments With Inyo Global

Visa has launched its USDC stablecoin prefunding service for commercial use through Inyo Global, marking the first time a payment processor has made the service available to its clients.

Announced Thursday, the rollout follows Visa's initial stablecoin prefunding and payout trials in 2025. The service allows businesses to use Circle's USDC stablecoin to fund international payments through Visa Direct, offering an alternative to traditional funding methods that may be limited by banking hours.

Inyo Global provides payment infrastructure for money transfer companies, fintech firms, banks and other payment businesses. Its platform supports customer onboarding, fraud prevention, compliance, payment acceptance and domestic and international payouts across more than 180 countries through Visa Direct.

With USDC prefunding now integrated into Inyo's platform, eligible businesses can fund cross-border transfers in near real time, including outside conventional banking hours. The service is accessible through Inyo's existing application programming interfaces (APIs), although availability depends on geographic restrictions and eligibility requirements.

The integration is designed to help payment providers move money more flexibly without having to adopt an entirely new system. Businesses can use the existing Inyo infrastructure to access stablecoin-based funding for their payouts.

Visa began testing stablecoin prefunding in September 2025, initially supporting USDC and EURC. Those trials focused on how businesses supplied funds for payments rather than changing the currencies received by their customers.

The company expanded its stablecoin payment experiments in November 2025 by testing USDC payouts, allowing eligible recipients to receive funds directly in the stablecoin instead of a traditional currency.

Visa has continued to expand its stablecoin initiatives through additional partnerships. In August, the company announced a collaboration with zerohash to support stablecoin funding and payouts through Visa Direct, with the firm providing the necessary technology and regulatory infrastructure.

The payments giant has also tested the use of USDC for settling obligations with traditional financial institutions. Earlier this month, Visa and Lloyds completed a seven-day trial involving $750,000 in payment settlements using USDC. According to the companies, the funds reached Visa in less than an hour, including during the weekend.

The latest commercial launch highlights how stablecoins are increasingly being explored as a way to improve the speed and availability of international payments. Unlike conventional bank transfers, stablecoin transactions can operate beyond standard banking schedules, potentially reducing delays associated with funding and settlement.

Visa Direct's global network provides an established distribution channel for the technology, while Inyo's integration makes the service accessible to payment companies through infrastructure they already use.

Visa has described wider adoption as the next stage in stablecoin development, pointing to live implementations with partners as a way to make global money transfers more flexible and efficient.

The launch does not replace traditional payment methods across Visa Direct, but it gives eligible businesses another option for funding international payouts. Its broader impact will depend on adoption by payment providers, regional availability and demand for stablecoin-based settlement.