Visa (V) Enhances Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure Across CEMEA Region

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is one of the best dividend stocks to buy according to hedge funds. A November 28 Reuters report mentioned that Visa has shared plans to enhance its stablecoin settlement capacity in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region. It is collaborating with Aquanow for this undertaking, which is an expert digital assets platform dealing in liquidity and infrastructure solutions.

Via this partnership, Aquanow’s digital asset network, paired with Visa’s top-notch tech capabilities, will allow Visa’s chain of issuers and buyers to manage transactions with authorized stablecoins, which will lower costs, ensure seamless operations, and reduce settlement timelines.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is seeing higher demand from financial companies to enable quick and affordable international transactions, which is why it is using stablecoins to digitally transform the payment flows. Visa was one of the initial payment providers that settled stablecoin transactions back in 2023, during its pilot phase, where clients could fulfill their settlement transactions using USDC.

Separately, Visa and Mastercard on November 10 reported a $38 billion revised settlement with merchants who argued the card networks charged too much, in response to a judge rejecting a smaller settlement. This agreement would bring to an end 20 years of lawsuits in which businesses accused Visa, Mastercard, and banks of antitrust violations, particularly related to swipe fees. The settlement requires Visa and Mastercard to reduce swipe fees, which were roughly 2.35% in 2024 and normally lie between 2% to 2.5%, by 0.1% for five years. Meanwhile, stand consumer rates would be limited at 1.25% for eight years, which indicates a reduction of over 25%. A court filing also enabled businesses to levy up to 3% surcharges on card transactions while selecting which cards to accept.

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