Visa (NYSE: V) has teamed up with Brale to test private stablecoin settlement options for institutional payments. Announced on June 4, 2026, the proof-of-concept leverages SBC—a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Brale—on the Canton Network. This initiative evaluates privacy-enhanced blockchain infrastructure to enable faster, more programmable settlements while allowing financial institutions to safeguard sensitive transaction details.
The collab builds on Visa’s relatively longstanding commitment to stablecoins, which began with early settlement pilots in 2021. VisaNet obligations can now settle using supported stablecoins, and this latest effort emphasizes privacy architecture.
Unlike public blockchains, Canton permits shared infrastructure with controlled visibility, addressing regulatory and compliance needs as stablecoin volumes surge.
Visa plans to assess SBC for institutional flows, testing real-world applicability for payments that demand both efficiency and discretion.
Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa, highlighted how stablecoin settlement demonstrates blockchain’s potential to accelerate money movement.
The Brale partnership explores programmability alongside privacy controls, paving the way for production-ready solutions.
Brale’s CEO, Ben Milne, has noted growing demand from institutions for infrastructure that balances innovation with operational and regulatory standards.
Visa views stablecoins as a scalable foundation for global payments, advancing privacy, compliance, and interoperability through targeted collaborations.
Visa’s activities reflect a busy year of stablecoin expansion across major payment networks.
In late 2025, Visa launched USDC settlement in the United States with partners like Cross River Bank and Lead Bank via Solana, achieving a $3.5 billion annualized run rate.
It broadened support to additional stablecoins (including PYUSD and USDG via Paxos), blockchains (reaching nine networks like Polygon, Base, and Canton), and use cases such as euro-backed EURC.
Visa has also piloted stablecoin pre-funding for cross-border payments and expanded stablecoin-linked cards through partnerships like Stripe’s Bridge, targeting over 100 countries.
Competitor Mastercard has matched (if not significantly surpassed) this pace.
In early June 2026, it announced expanded settlement capabilities supporting regulated stablecoins like USDC, PYUSD, USDG, RLUSD, and SoFiUSD across networks including Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana.
This enables 24/7, intraday, weekend, and holiday settlements for partners such as Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei, initially in the US and Latin America.
Earlier, Mastercard joined Paxos’ Global Dollar Network, partnered with Circle and others for wallet-to-checkout flows, and acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion to bolster B2B capabilities.
These moves come amid explosive growth: stablecoin supply exceeded $270–300 billion in 2025, with on-chain volumes surpassing Visa and Mastercard’s combined totals in some metrics.
Regulatory clarity, including the US GENIUS Act, has accelerated adoption for remittances, merchant settlements, and tokenized assets. Both networks are repositioning rather than competing directly with stablecoins.
By enabling issuers and acquirers to settle obligations on-chain while maintaining card acceptance at millions of merchants, they bridge traditional rails with programmable money. Privacy-focused initiatives like Visa-Brale’s Canton test, combined with multi-chain and multi-stablecoin support, signal a maturing ecosystem where blockchain technology further enhances rather than disrupts more traditional payments infrastructure.