Visa Direct brings USDC prefunding to commercial production with Inyo Global

Visa Direct goes live with USDC prefunding through Inyo

Visa Direct has moved its USDC stablecoin prefunding service into commercial production, partnering with Inyo Global as the first processor to offer it to clients. The announcement came on Thursday, October 16, 2026.

USDC is a type of stablecoin, a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value linked to the US dollar. Prefunding means businesses can load funds onto their Visa Direct accounts using USDC instead of traditional bank transfers, allowing them to make payouts even when regular banking hours are closed.

The service runs through Inyo's existing APIs and is available to eligible money transmitters, fintechs, banks, and payment companies across more than 180 countries.

Key details of the rollout

• Inyo Global is the first Visa Direct processor to bring stablecoin prefunding into commercial production.


• Businesses can fund cross-border payouts in near real time, including outside traditional banking hours and on weekends.


• The offering is available through Inyo's existing APIs, subject to eligibility and geographic restrictions.


• Circle's prefunding capability has been integrated into Inyo's payments platform.

What Inyo and Visa said

Robson Dantas, co-founder and chief product and technology officer at Inyo Global, said the integration gives businesses "a new way to fund their payouts, one that is available around the clock and runs through the same Inyo APIs they already use."

Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, said the launch marks a shift toward adoption. "The next chapter for stablecoins is adoption," she said, noting that several years of work with clients and partners have led to live implementations that help businesses access more flexible and efficient ways to move money globally.

Background on Visa's stablecoin testing

Visa first began testing stablecoin prefunding in September 2025, initially with USDC and EURC. Those early trials focused on how businesses funded their payments, not on what recipients received. In November 2025, Visa expanded testing to allow eligible recipients to receive USDC directly.

In August 2026, Visa announced a collaboration with zerohash to support stablecoin funding and payouts through Visa Direct, with zerohash serving as the technology and regulatory infrastructure provider.

Earlier this month, Visa completed a seven-day pilot with Lloyds, settling $750,000 in payment obligations using USDC. The funds reached Visa in less than an hour, including over a weekend, according to the companies.

Why this matters for cross-border payments

Cross-border payments have long been constrained by banking hours, time zones, and settlement delays. By allowing businesses to prefund their Visa Direct accounts with USDC around the clock, Visa is removing some of those bottlenecks. Eligible companies can initiate international payouts at any time without waiting for traditional funding windows to open.

What is confirmed

• Visa Direct has moved its USDC prefunding service into commercial production with Inyo Global.


• Inyo is the first processor to offer the service to its clients.


• The service is available through Inyo's existing APIs, subject to eligibility and geographic restrictions.


• Visa has been testing stablecoin prefunding and payouts since September 2025.

What is still unclear

• The article does not specify which countries or businesses are currently eligible for the service beyond noting geographic and eligibility restrictions.


• It is not clear how many other processors beyond Inyo have signed on to offer Visa Direct's stablecoin prefunding.

Sources

• The Block