Visa is connecting VisaNet settlement data with blockchain-based lending infrastructure to help stablecoin-linked card programs obtain working capital.
The initiative is aimed at payment companies and fintechs rather than individual cardholders. Visa will provide authorized settlement information that participating lenders can use alongside onchain records to assess financing opportunities. Visa is not presenting itself as the lender or launching a consumer credit product.
What Visa Actually Built
Visa announced the initiative on September 8. The company said settlement data can give lenders a clearer view of how a stablecoin-linked card program is performing, including the receivables generated through its payment activity, information that traditional lenders typically can’t access without extensive manual documentation from the program operator itself.
An early implementation involves Credit Coop, which provides working capital and settlement financing through participating lenders, a model that fits within the broader landscape covered in this best crypto lending platforms guide.
With the program operator’s authorization, Credit Coop combines VisaNet settlement information with onchain transaction records to build a more complete picture of a program’s cash flow than either data source could provide alone.
Smart contracts can then automate funding, collateral management, and repayment. The repayment process can be connected to the program’s settlement flow, reducing the reliance on manual reconciliation and cutting down the time between when a card program needs capital and when a lender can release funds against it.
| Part of the Model | Role |
| VisaNet | Supplies authorized settlement-performance data |
| Credit Coop | Connects card programs with onchain financing infrastructure |
| Participating lenders | Provide working capital |
| Smart contracts | Automate funding, collateral controls, and repayment |
| Card programs | Use financing to manage settlement and growth requirements |
Table 1. How Visa’s Onchain Financing Model Works
Visa said the model has supported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financed settlement volume since 2023, with zero defaults across participating facilities. It has processed more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events onchain.
Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, described the initiative as a way to connect payment data with programmable onchain credit for stablecoin-linked card programs:
What This Means for Stablecoin Card Programs
Fast-growing card programs may need working capital before incoming settlement receivables become available, a timing gap that has traditionally forced smaller or newer operators to either slow their growth or seek expensive short-term financing.
Traditional lenders can require a long operating history, extensive documentation, or substantial scale before approving financing, conditions many stablecoin-linked programs can’t yet meet even when their underlying transaction volume is healthy.
Visa’s model gives lenders permissioned access to settlement data that may help them evaluate how a program is performing without waiting for that longer track record. Onchain records add an auditable history of borrowing and repayment, while smart contracts can enforce agreed financing conditions automatically rather than through manual servicing.
The addressable market is growing. Visa said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs operate on its network, with their payment volume increasing nearly 200% year over year, a category this 11 best crypto card options guide surveys across the current market.
Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has also exceeded a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times its level a year earlier, underscoring how quickly this segment of Visa’s business has scaled.
What Details Remain Undisclosed
Visa has not disclosed which additional lenders or card programs will participate, the interest rates involved, or the collateral and eligibility requirements applied to individual facilities. The reported zero-default record also reflects activity to date and does not guarantee future performance.
What this means for you: The initiative does not create a new loan for Visa cardholders. It gives stablecoin-linked card providers another potential source of working capital by allowing authorized VisaNet settlement data to support onchain underwriting, funding, and repayment.
This is not financial advice. Onchain lending involves credit, smart-contract, liquidity, counterparty, and regulatory risks.
