Visa Direct has advanced its USDC stablecoin prefunding capability into commercial production partnering with Inyo Global, becoming the initial processor to extend the offering to its customers.
Visa revealed the rollout on Thursday, following the initial introduction of its stablecoin prefunding and disbursement pilots back in 2025.
Inyo caters to money transmitters, financial technology firms, banks, and payment enterprises. The system delivers onboarding, fraud prevention, compliance capabilities, payment processing, and domestic as well as cross-border disbursements through Visa Direct across more than 180 nations.
By incorporating Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL)’s (USD Coin) prefunding into Inyo’s financial network, enterprises can now leverage it to power cross-border disbursements via Visa Direct nearly instantaneously, even during periods when conventional banking hours are closed, according to Visa. This functionality is accessible through Inyo’s current APIs, subject to specific criteria and regional availability.
“Innovation in money movement is ultimately about creating a better experience for customers,” Inyo Global co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer Robson Dantas stated in the press release. “By integrating Visa Direct’s stablecoin-enabled prefunding into the Inyo platform, we’re giving the money transmitters, fintechs and payment companies we serve a new way to fund their payouts, one that is available around the clock and runs through the same Inyo APIs they already use.”
Visa Direct’s stablecoin pilots
Visa began testing stablecoin prefunding in September 2025, starting with USDC and EURC. The experimentation concentrated on the manner in which corporations funded their transactions, rather than the asset format received by beneficiaries. Visa subsequently evaluated USDC disbursements last November, granting qualified recipients the choice to obtain the stablecoin directly.
During August, Visa stated it was collaborating with zerohash to facilitate stablecoin funding and distributions through Visa Direct. That update designated zerohash as the technical and regulatory framework provider for the partnership.
Additionally, Visa settled $750,000 in transactional obligations with Lloyds during a seven-day USDC trial earlier this month. The capital arrived at Visa in under an hour, including throughout the weekend, both organizations noted.
“The next chapter for stablecoins is adoption,” Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, mentioned on Thursday. She remarked that multiple years of collaboration alongside clients and allies has resulted in live deployments designed to enhance financial transfers, assisting businesses in obtaining more adaptable and optimized methods to back and transfer capital internationally.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-10-16-visa-direct-moves-usdc-prefunding-into-commercial-production-with-inyo-global-418802.
