Global payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot program by adding five more blockchains. The new additions include Circle’s Arc, Coinbase-incubated Base, Canton, Polygon, and Stripe-backed Tempo. With these, Visa now supports nine blockchains in total.
In Q1 2026, Visa reported that its stablecoin settlement volume hit a $7 billion annualized run rate. That marks a 50% increase compared to the previous quarter. For the company, this growth shows “increasing confidence” in on-chain settlement rails.
Why Visa is expanding
Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, said the expanded multi-chain support is meant to match what users actually need. “Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality,” he noted.
Visa sees stablecoin settlement via on-chain rails as a “viable complement” to traditional settlement methods. The reason is simple: stablecoins are faster and cheaper than legacy systems. That combination is making them increasingly attractive for cross-border payments.
Rivals are also moving
Visa is not alone in this push. Mastercard acquired BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, in March for over $1.8 billion. That same month, Mastercard launched a crypto partner program with 85 firms, including Binance, to bring them into its payment network.
PayPal took a different route. It launched its own stablecoin, PYUSD, and started offering yield to users. It also introduced peer-to-peer features for PYUSD, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies. Back in 2025, PayPal rolled out a “Pay with crypto” option and cut cross-border fees by 90% as competition heated up.
Other traditional players like MoneyGram and Western Union have also added stablecoin support. Blockchain is becoming a key differentiator in modern cross-border payments and remittances.
The market is responding. The total stablecoin supply has climbed to $320 billion as adoption grows. Meanwhile, transfer fees are approaching zero, which raises questions about how competitors will keep up.
