LONDON, 30 SEPT 2026 – Visa (NSYE: V), a global leader in digital payments, and Lloyds Banking Group have completed a live pilot exploring how stablecoin-based settlement could support faster, more transparent and flexible cross-border transactions - modernising the way money moves around the world.
The pilot focused on settlement, the behind-the-scenes process through which financial institutions exchange funds to complete and reconcile payment activity, rather than on how payments themselves are made. Through a series of real-world transactions, Lloyds and Visa tested how stablecoins could be used alongside existing settlement processes, assessing their impact on speed, transparency and operational processes.
The seven-day pilot involved a series of US dollar settlement obligations totalling US$750,000. To complete these settlements, Lloyds used USDC purchased through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange. The settlement volume, booked through Lloyds’ Corporate Markets branch in Jersey, was then transferred to Visa in the US.
The pilot demonstrated how blockchain-based settlement can improve speed and flexibility, with funds reaching Visa in under an hour, including during the weekend. Under traditional cross-border payment processes, settlement can take a day or more if initiated outside of banking hours.
The pilot showed how stablecoins could give financial institutions greater flexibility to settle certain transactions around the clock. In practice, that could mean better visibility over the status of funds, greater certainty over when money has arrived and less liquidity tied up waiting for settlement to complete, particularly over weekends and holidays.
The pilot also demonstrated the potential for stablecoin transactions to operate across a variety of blockchain networks. As part of the test, Lloyds used its own node on Canton, leveraging the network’s configurable privacy capabilities, while Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain, demonstrating interoperability across both networks.
Peter Left, Head of Digital Assets at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Stablecoins could be particularly valuable for cross-border payments, where moving money between markets, currencies and infrastructures can add time and complexity. Settling $750,000 of live payment obligations between Lloyds and Visa using stablecoins has allowed us to move beyond theory and test these capabilities in a real-world setting.”
Rob Cameron, Group Country Manager, UK & Ireland, Visa, said: “Businesses increasingly operate across borders and around the clock, but the infrastructure behind the movement of money has not always offered the same flexibility. This pilot with Lloyds shows how stablecoins can work alongside existing banking infrastructure to give financial institutions more choice over how and when they settle funds. Visa’s role is to help make these new forms of money practical, interoperable and trusted at scale.”