Visa Opens VisaNet Settlement Data to Blockchain Lenders to Back Working Capital for Stablecoin Card Programmes
Visa Opens VisaNet Settlement Data to Blockchain Lenders to Back Working Capital for Stablecoin Card Programmes #
Visa has announced an onchain credit model that makes its VisaNet settlement data available to blockchain-based lenders, allowing those lenders to extend working capital to stablecoin-linked card programmes and fintechs. The company says the initiative is designed to connect onchain lending with everyday payment infrastructure.
The model pairs Visa’s proprietary settlement data with onchain credit infrastructure so lenders can see in real time how a card programme is performing before extending capital. Traditional credit structures have required issuers to demonstrate significant scale or operating history, or to complete time-consuming manual underwriting, before accessing financing. Visa says blockchain-based lending backed by payment data can shorten that process while also introducing greater transparency through auditable, on-chain records.
Demand across Visa’s stablecoin-linked card portfolio has driven the initiative. The company now operates more than 160 such programmes for issuers and programme managers, a nearly 200% increase year over year, as stablecoin neobanks and fintechs launch new products. Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, told CNBC that “stablecoin-linked cards are in hypergrowth mode,” with new issuers joining the network every week. Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has exceeded a $20 billion annualised run rate, up roughly 15 times year over year.
Credit Coop is the early operational partner for the model. The firm uses smart contracts to automate funding, collateral management and repayment for stablecoin card programmes and, with customer authorisation, combines Visa’s settlement data with its own onchain transaction records to assess credit performance. Since 2023, the arrangement has supported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financed settlement volume with zero recorded defaults across participating facilities. The infrastructure has also processed more than 3,000 borrow events and 9,000 repayment events programmatically onchain.
“Payment companies have always had good collateral in their settlement receivables, but no way to show lenders how it performs in real time,” said Chris Walker, founder and CEO of Credit Coop, in the announcement. “By combining Visa settlement data with onchain infrastructure, we can evaluate live performance, enforce repayment from the settlement flow and extend capital onchain from participating lenders as a programme grows.”
Visa described the move as part of a broader strategy to connect its existing payment infrastructure with digital asset technology. The company’s Onchain Analytics Dashboard shows that more than $694 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have been channelled through onchain lending protocols since 2020, a market that operates around the clock. Visa said it believes combining trusted payment data with programmable financial services could support new forms of lending, treasury management and settlement across the global payments ecosystem.
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