Visa is accelerating its push into stablecoin-powered payments, reporting more than 160 live stablecoin-linked card programs globally and a sharp jump in settlement activity. The payments giant said on September 8 that payment volume across these programs grew nearly 200% year over year, while its stablecoin settlement run rate surpassed $20 billion on an annualized basis.
What the numbers actually mean
Visa’s latest figures cover its fiscal second quarter of 2026. During that period, more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating worldwide, up from roughly 130 earlier in the year. Payment volume tied to these programs increased by almost 200% compared with the same quarter a year ago.
At the same time, Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume crossed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times higher than a year earlier. An annualized run rate projects recent activity over a full year; it does not mean Visa has already processed $20 billion in stablecoin settlement in 2026.
These metrics track two related but distinct flows. Payment volume reflects purchases made by cardholders using stablecoin-funded cards. Settlement volume reflects the movement of funds between Visa and participating financial institutions or program operators to clear those transactions. Both have grown rapidly as more issuers and fintechs launch crypto-linked cards.
How stablecoin-linked Visa cards work
Stablecoin-linked cards connect a user’s crypto wallet or stablecoin account to Visa’s existing merchant network. When a cardholder spends, the underlying stablecoins are converted or used to fund the transaction, while merchants receive payment through familiar card rails.
This setup lets crypto users spend digital dollars at more than 175 million merchant locations without merchants needing to accept crypto directly. Cardholders can often top up their spending balance with USDC or other dollar-pegged tokens, then use the card anywhere Visa is accepted.
Programs using this model have expanded across multiple countries and blockchains. In March, Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge said their card programs were live in 18 countries and planned to reach more than 100 by the end of 2026. Bridge-enabled cards can be used through wallets such as Phantom and MetaMask.
The hidden bottleneck: daily settlement financing
Behind the growth is a working-capital problem that rarely makes headlines. Card programs must fund their daily Visa settlement obligations before they collect all corresponding payments from cardholders. Large, established portfolios can rely on traditional warehouse credit lines or securitizations. Smaller programs may need only a few million dollars, drawn and repaid every day.
For these smaller issuers, conventional credit facilities can be expensive and slow to set up. Legal and administrative costs can make traditional financing uneconomical at that scale, creating a barrier for new stablecoin card launches.
Credit Coop’s onchain credit solution
Visa’s announcement highlighted a partnership with Credit Coop to address this gap. The two are using stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facilities to help card programs finance their daily settlement obligations.
Under this structure, borrowers draw from a revolving facility to meet their daily Visa settlement needs. As cardholder payments arrive, those receivables pass through Credit Coop’s Spigot smart contract. The contract automatically routes a portion of incoming funds to repay principal and interest before sending the remainder to the borrower’s operating account.
This process resembles a controlled bank lockbox, but with onchain execution and transparent transaction records. Visa says it provides authorized programs’ daily settlement files to Credit Coop through a secure data connection, allowing credit decisions and repayment checks to use both Visa data and onchain history.
According to Visa, better access to settlement data has helped reduce borrowing costs for some participating programs by as much as 30%. The company did not disclose individual interest rates or name every program that received lower pricing.
Rain: the first live case study
Rain, a Visa principal member offering stablecoin card infrastructure, has used a Credit Coop revolving facility since August 2023 to finance its daily Visa settlement requirements. Credit Coop transfers funds to Rain based on the relevant Visa settlement file; Rain then funds its settlement obligation. Cardholder payments subsequently flow through smart contracts that service interest and replenish the facility.
Visa said every settlement obligation covered by the facility had been funded on time. Credit Coop reported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financing since 2023, covering over 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events, with zero defaults. These figures are company claims and have not been supported by an independent audit.
Rain accounted for approximately $2 billion of that cumulative financing. Visa said the arrangement processed more than 2,000 borrowing events and 7,000 repayment events for Rain, generating at least $1.58 million in interest. Rain previously confirmed that it settles Visa card obligations in USDC seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.
U.S. programs following the same path
Karta, a U.S.-issued premium Visa card operating under Rain’s bank identification number, also launched using Credit Coop financing while building its performance record. Visa said Karta later announced $140 million in financing in June 2026, including a $15 million Series A led by Galaxy Ventures and a $125 million institutional credit facility from Community Investment Management.
Visa presented Karta as an example of an early card program moving from a small revolving facility to larger institutional financing. The company said Karta’s daily settlement history contributed to the performance record available to bigger lenders. Moto and Xplace also use Credit Coop financing under Rain’s issuing infrastructure, though Visa did not disclose their facility sizes or borrowing costs.
Toward just-in-time settlement funding
Visa and Credit Coop are now working toward just-in-time funding. In this model, a program’s daily settlement file would trigger a stablecoin disbursement matching the exact net amount owed. Funds would move directly to the relevant Visa settlement address, so programs would not need to draw an entire facility in advance or hold unused capital between cycles.
Visa said this approach could shorten borrowing periods from days to hours and allow lenders to align exposure more closely with actual daily obligations. The model depends on accurate settlement data, reliable smart contracts, and sufficient stablecoin liquidity. Operational failures could still prevent a program from meeting a settlement deadline even if the credit facility is adequately funded.
Credit Coop’s zero-default record does not guarantee future performance. Risks include stablecoin depegging, smart-contract vulnerabilities, borrower failures, and regulatory changes. Visa has not announced a timeline for rolling out just-in-time funding across all 160 programs, nor which stablecoins or blockchains future facilities will support.
Why this matters for crypto payments
The rapid growth in stablecoin-linked cards and settlement volume signals a shift from speculative trading to everyday payments infrastructure. With more than 160 live programs, a 200% year-over-year jump in payment volume, and a $20 billion annualized settlement run rate, stablecoins are increasingly embedded in mainstream card networks.
For issuers, the next challenge is scaling financing efficiently. For users, the payoff is smoother spending experiences with crypto balances. For Visa, the opportunity is to turn stablecoins into a core part of its value-added services and programmable commerce strategy, including settlement pilots and payment tools for AI agents.
