How Can Visa Modernize Liquidity Management With Stablecoins?

Visa Inc. V has recently unveiled a pilot program through its Visa Direct platform that enables businesses to use stablecoins as a new funding option for cross-border payouts. The launch comes as payment players race to showcase real-world applications of stablecoins after the passage of the GENIUS Act. Instead of relying solely on bank deposits, companies can now prefund their transactions with stablecoins issued by approved providers.This move highlights Visa’s efforts to modernize payment rails.

The initiative directly tackles one of the most pressing issues in international payments, liquidity management. Companies handling large volumes of payouts typically tie up substantial capital across multiple jurisdictions, which can be costly and inefficient. By leveraging stablecoins, Visa offers a more agile system that improves working capital flexibility, reduces operational friction and accelerates access to funds for recipients worldwide.

Here’s how the process works: businesses prefund Visa Direct with stablecoins, which Visa treats as equivalent to cash reserves. When a transfer is initiated, Visa taps into its extensive banking and payout network to ensure that end-users still receive money in their local fiat currency. The stablecoins can serve as the underlying funding layer, while the end user can continue to interact with familiar, spendable money. The primary users include banks, remittance providers, fintechs and global companies making frequent disbursements.

For Visa, the initiative promises stronger positioning in cross-border flows, broader participation in digital asset infrastructure and higher transaction volumes. In the last reported quarter alone, its processed transactions grew 10% year over year to 65.4 billion. The plan is expected to enter limited availability in April 2026.

How are Peers Faring in the Stablecoins Space?

Companies like Mastercard Incorporated MA and American Express Company AXP are also taking major steps in the stablecoin space.

In April 2025, Mastercard announced end-to-end capabilities to support stablecoin transactions. It has joined the Global Dollar Network, a stablecoin consortium led by Paxos, which allows Mastercard institutions to mint, redeem and distribute USDG under that network. Meanwhile, American Express teamed up with Coinbase to launch a crypto-linked credit card on the American Express network, which can offer rewards tied to crypto usage. AmEx is taking a more cautious approach with stablecoins.

Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of Visa have gained 10.7% year to date, outperforming the broader industry but underperforming the S&P 500 Index.

Visa YTD Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, Visa trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19X, up from the industry average of 20.21. Visa carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2025 earnings implies a 13.7% rise year over year, followed by 12.3% growth next year.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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