Visa has partnered with Zerohash to integrate stablecoin merchant prefunding and payout capabilities into Visa Direct, the company's real-time payment network spanning more than 18 billion endpoints across over 195 countries and territories.

The collaboration enables eligible Visa Direct clients to prefund merchant accounts using stablecoins before initiating payments and to distribute payouts directly in stablecoins, all while leveraging existing financial infrastructure. Zerohash provides the underlying regulatory, compliance, and technical framework for the service, operating across dozens of blockchains and stablecoins to manage settlement and user accessibility. The partnership comes as major payment networks increasingly explore stablecoin-based settlement, with Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe all having expanded stablecoin initiatives over the past two years. Regulatory clarity has also advanced the space, particularly following the passage of U.S. stablecoin legislation in 2025 that established federal guardrails for tokenized dollar issuance.

Extending Stablecoin Capabilities Across Visa Direct

According to Visa, the integration supports businesses seeking faster settlement beyond traditional banking hours. Traditional cross-border payments often require multiple correspondent banks and can take several business days to settle; stablecoin-based settlement via blockchain can compress that timeline to minutes. Recipients can choose to receive payments directly in stablecoins rather than relying solely on conventional payment methods.

Edward Woodford, founder and CEO of Zerohash, said the partnership brings stablecoin functionality into Visa Direct's core payment network. He noted that businesses gain an additional option for managing cross-border liquidity, while recipients benefit from quicker access to funds through onchain settlement.

Mark Nelsen, Visa's global head of product, said stablecoins create further opportunities to improve cross-border money movement. He added that Visa continues to invest in infrastructure that expands Visa Direct's capabilities while remaining compatible with existing financial systems.

Building on Visa's 2026 Stablecoin Initiatives

The announcement builds on Visa's broader stablecoin strategy throughout 2026. Earlier in the year, Visa partnered with BVNK on stablecoin prefunding pilots, followed by the launch of the Visa Stablecoin Platform in July. That platform allows financial institutions to issue, hold, transfer, and redeem stablecoins within a single environment.

The Zerohash collaboration adds merchant prefunding and payout functionality to Visa Direct, extending blockchain-based settlement to another segment of Visa's payment ecosystem. According to both companies, the integration gives eligible clients additional tools for managing liquidity, supporting cross-border payments, and accessing stablecoin settlement through Visa Direct without the need to build separate blockchain infrastructure. As stablecoin circulating supply continues to grow—led by tokens such as USDT and USDC—the demand from financial institutions for compliant integration pathways into legacy payment rails is likely to shape the next phase of competition among card networks and payment processors.