Which regions gain Visa stablecoins?

TLDR

Visas latest stablecoin settlement expansion targets CEMEA: Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, via a partnership with Aquanow CEMEA region rollout.

1. Institutions in CEMEA can settle with USDC and approved stablecoins approved stablecoins.
2. The setup enables 24/7, lower-cost cross-border settlement 24/7 settlement.
3. Visa reports about a $2.5B annualized run rate for stablecoin settlements run rate figure.

Deep Dive

1. Where Its Rolling Out

Visa is extending stablecoin settlement across its CEMEA footprint (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa) through Aquanows infrastructure CEMEA region rollout.

• The move is aimed at issuers and acquirers in these regions that handle cross-border flows and want faster back-end money movement regional focus.

2. Which Stablecoins

Visa says settlement will use USDC and other approved stablecoins, integrating them into its payment stack for institutional users approved stablecoins.

• The initiative builds on Visas prior pilots to digitize settlement using stablecoins, now formalized for CEMEA institutions pilot context.

3. Why It Matters

Stablecoin rails enable always-on (365 days), near-instant settlement and can reduce operational cost and delays tied to legacy banking and time zones 24/7 settlement.

• Visa cites about a $2.5B annualized run rate for its stablecoin settlement activity, signaling meaningful early adoption run rate figure.

Conclusion

Visas partnership with Aquanow expands stablecoin settlement across CEMEA, using USDC and approved tokens to provide faster, 24/7 cross-border clearing. For institutions in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, this is a practical step toward cheaper, more efficient settlement without waiting on legacy banking windows.