Visa opens beta platform for institutional stablecoin operations

Visa has introduced a beta stablecoin platform for financial institutions and fintechs, offering tools to mint, redeem, store and transfer stablecoins, starting with Open USD. The launch extends Visa’s role in digital-asset settlement and gives clients a controlled route to connect stablecoin activity with payment, treasury and settlement operations.

The Visa Stablecoin Platform, or VSP, combines wallet infrastructure with links for minting and burning Open USD, according to Visa. Minting creates stablecoin tokens against underlying value, while burning removes tokens from circulation when they are redeemed back into fiat or another settlement arrangement.

Visa said the service includes onchain wallet infrastructure through a Wallet-as-a-Service offering. Firms can use a Visa-managed wallet stack or connect wallets they already operate, giving them one place to handle minting, burning and transfers.

Clients will also be able to link bank accounts and set internal controls, including user permissions, approval workflows and policies governing who can initiate or approve movements. Those controls are intended to make stablecoin activity usable within institutional operations, where segregation of duties, auditability and transaction limits are standard requirements.

Open USD connection

VSP will initially support Open USD, a stablecoin due to launch later this year. Open USD is governed and operated by Open Standard, an independent company with more than 140 founding partners across banking, fintech, crypto and payments, including Visa, Mastercard, US Bank, Google and Coinbase.

Visa said the platform connects directly with Open Standard and gives institutions access to Open USD alongside Visa network services. The design is intended to let clients bring fiat value onchain, manage flows and incorporate stablecoin functions into payment products and settlement processes.

Stablecoins are digital tokens typically designed to maintain a fixed value against a reference asset such as a fiat currency. For payments firms and banks, the operational issue is less the token itself than the infrastructure around it: custody, wallet access, redemption, transaction approvals, account links and integration with existing treasury systems.

Visa said VSP packages wallet infrastructure, controls and workflows for institutional use cases across treasury, settlement and product development. Existing Visa clients that use the company’s settlement, treasury and currency services will be able to connect stablecoin activity with systems they already use, according to the company.

Visa’s rationale

Jack Forestell, Visa’s chief product and strategy officer, said stablecoins are creating “a new layer of programmable money,” but that institutions face practical barriers in implementation.

“With the Visa Stablecoin Platform, we’re giving our clients a single place to mint, move and manage stablecoin operations with the controls, security and network reach they already expect from Visa,” Forestell said. “It’s how we help them turn interest in stablecoins into real products and real payment flows.”

The beta launch comes as major payments companies continue to test stablecoin settlement and related infrastructure. Visa has previously moved into stablecoin settlement in the US and launched a validator node on the Tempo blockchain, while Mastercard has rolled out support for stablecoin settlement.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.