Which region added stablecoin settlement?

TLDR

Visa expanded stablecoin settlement to Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), enabling institutions there to settle using approved stablecoins like USDC per a new partnership with Aquanow. See the CEMEA announcement.

1. The rollout targets cross?border payments with 24/7 settlement and lower operational friction.
2. It uses approved stablecoins such as USDC and integrates Aquanows infrastructure.
3. Banks and payment firms in CEMEA are the primary beneficiaries initially.

Deep Dive

1. Region and Who

Visa partnered with Aquanow to bring stablecoin settlement to CEMEA, covering Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The move formalizes stablecoin use for institutional settlement beyond pilot phases in 2023, aiming at faster and simpler backend money movement across the regions corridors CEMEA announcement.

2. How It Works

Visa is integrating Aquanows digital asset infrastructure so issuers and acquirers can settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC. The goal is to reduce costs and enable round?the?clock cross?border settlements by digitizing the settlement layer and bypassing weekend or legacy banking cutoffs settlement mechanics.

3. Why It Matters

Demand from banks and payment firms for faster, cheaper cross?border flows is pushing stablecoins into mainstream settlement. The CEMEA push coincides with broader institutional adoption in Europe, where Deutsche Brse also outlined plans to integrate a euro stablecoin (EURAU) across services, signaling convergence toward tokenized settlement options in major markets broader trend.

Conclusion

The region is CEMEA, where Visas partnership with Aquanow adds stablecoin settlement for issuers and acquirers. The driver is institutional demand for cheaper, always?on cross?border flows, and the impact is a gradual shift of settlement to tokenized rails that can compress costs and timelines for regional payments.