Visa launches stablecoin advisory service as payment settlements hit $3.5 billion run rate

Visa launched a stablecoin advisory practice on Monday to help banks, fintechs, and enterprises integrate stablecoins into their payment systems, marking the payments giant’s latest push into the digital assets sector.

The initiative, housed within Visa Consulting & Analytics, comes as the company’s own stablecoin settlement activity has reached a $3.5 billion annualized run rate as of November 30.

With the total stablecoin market surpassing $300 billion, Visa is responding to growing institutional demand for guidance on using stablecoins in treasury operations, cross-border transactions, and real-time payments.

Stablecoin advisory practice targets institutional adoption

The Stablecoin advisory practice is designed to support organizations evaluating whether and how to integrate stablecoins into their operations. According to Visa, the offering includes training programs, market and regulatory analysis, strategy development, use-case sizing, and technical implementation support.

“Having a comprehensive stablecoins strategy is critical in today’s digital landscape,” said Carl Rutstein, Global Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics. “We are proud to help our clients stay agile and competitive as this space evolves at an unprecedented pace.”

Visa positioned the Stablecoin advisory practice as a response to questions it increasingly receives from traditional financial institutions that are interested in stablecoins but cautious about execution, compliance, and long-term viability. The firm said the service is intended to bridge the gap between experimentation and production-scale deployment.

Early clients and market demand

Several U.S.-based financial institutions are already working with Visa under the Stablecoin advisory practice, including Navy Federal Credit Union, Pathward, and VyStar Credit Union. Navy Federal, which serves roughly 15 million members worldwide, said it is assessing how stablecoins could complement its broader payments strategy.

In a statement, Matt Freeman, Senior Vice President at Navy Federal Credit Union, said the institution is exploring stablecoins as part of a long-term approach to modernizing payments for its members. Pathward President Anthony Sharett described Visa’s work as delivering “impressive work, insights, and actionable recommendations” during the early stages of the engagement.

The launch comes as the total market capitalization of stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, reflecting increased use for payments, trading, and remittances. Visa’s move suggests that advisory and infrastructure services may become as important as transaction processing in the next phase of crypto adoption.

Building on Visa’s stablecoin infrastructure

The Stablecoin advisory practice builds on years of experimentation and deployment by Visa in the stablecoin space. In 2023, the company piloted stablecoin settlement using Circle’s USDC and has since expanded support to more than 130 stablecoin-linked card issuing programs across over 40 countries.

Visa is also testing stablecoin-based cross-border payouts through Visa Direct, allowing qualified businesses to pre-fund transfers and send funds directly to recipients’ stablecoin wallets. These initiatives position the firm as both an enabler of stablecoin payments and a strategic advisor to institutions navigating regulatory and operational complexity.

The broader financial sector is moving in a similar direction. Large banks such as JPMorgan have begun using tokenized deposits to speed up intraday and cross-border settlements, while payments companies including Stripe are integrating stablecoins to reduce costs and settlement times. Visa’s Stablecoin advisory practice seeks to formalize its role at the center of this transition.

Regulation, forecasts, and long-term outlook

Regulatory clarity has added urgency to institutional planning. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July, established a federal framework for issuing and overseeing stablecoins in the United States, providing banks and fintechs with clearer rules of engagement.

Visa said the evolving policy environment has increased demand for structured advice on compliance and market fit.

Analysts expect continued growth. Citi has projected that the stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030 in a base-case scenario, with a potential upside of $4 trillion under more bullish assumptions. Standard Chartered has separately estimated the market could grow to $2 trillion by 2028.

Against this backdrop, Visa’s Stablecoin advisory practice reflects a strategic bet that stablecoins are moving from niche innovation to core financial infrastructure.

For crypto investors, policymakers, and the general public, the launch underscores how established payment networks are positioning themselves to influence not just how stablecoins move, but how they are designed, governed, and adopted at scale.