Wirex and Stellar have put into production a native stablecoin settlement system —USDC and EURC— for the Visa payment network, in an operational deployment announced on November 18, 2025 and aimed at more than 7 million customers. The initiative turns stablecoins into instruments for direct settlement and in‑store spending, and raises practical implications for product, costs and compliance. The announcement frames the rollout as a concrete step toward practical, large‑scale use of stablecoins within established payment rails.
The system allows Wirex, a principal member of Visa, to settle in USDC and EURC on the Stellar chain without relying on intermediary banks, reducing intermediary steps in the value chain. The Stellar network offers transaction finality in under 5 seconds and a per‑operation cost near $0.0001, with a theoretical capacity above 10,000 transactions per second, positioning the integration for efficiency and scale.
Wirex users can spend these stablecoins at more than 80 million merchants that accept Visa, and the integration operates 24/7, eliminating clearing windows typical of traditional banking. By enabling continuous operation, the deployment seeks to reduce friction in settlement cycles and improve the user experience for everyday spending and cross‑border use cases.
Wirex has integrated the functionality into its on‑chain payments product, Wirex Pay, and maintains non‑custodial options so that certain users retain direct control over their keys. The company also announces consumer commercial terms: no foreign transaction fees in 26 fiat currencies and up to 8% cashback in WXT on in‑store purchases, measures that seek to translate technical efficiency into product advantages.
Details of the Visa settlement with USDC and EURC
From an operational perspective, the deployment gives Wirex independence to settle obligations with Visa without going through correspondent banks, which reduces operational latency and potentially reconciliation costs for cross‑border payments and remittances. In terms of infrastructure adoption, the case positions Stellar as a settlement layer provider for large‑scale financial applications and showcases its suitability for use cases in regions with limited banking services.
The initiative also fits within a broader context of institutional normalization: Visa is driving settlement tests on multiple blockchains and comparable projects —mentioned in pilots by actors such as PayPal— and the growth of stablecoin trading volumes reached $32.8 trillion in 2024, according to the figure cited in the launch communication. This environment of greater regulatory clarity helps reduce risks for institutions looking to integrate stablecoins into their operations.
However, the progress does not eliminate regulatory and compliance needs; large‑scale adoption requires custody frameworks, KYC/AML and oversight that align operational responsibility and customer protection. “The Stellar network is purpose built for real world financial applications,” Wirex said in its announcement, a statement that underscores the project’s orientation toward regulated and high‑volume use cases.
The deployment marks an operational step toward the normalization of stablecoins as a means of settlement and spending, with direct effects on costs and speed for users and merchants.
