Lloyds and Visa complete seven-day USDC cross-border settlement pilot moving $750,000
Lloyds Banking Group and Visa settled $750,000 in live cross-border obligations using USDC during a seven-day pilot, with funds reaching Visa in under an hour including weekends.
Why it matters
The pilot demonstrates that stablecoins can enable round-the-clock institutional settlement between major financial institutions, addressing a key limitation of traditional banking hours. Visa's growing stablecoin card volume and consumer interest data indicate expanding commercial use cases beyond crypto trading, though low consumer understanding and trust remain barriers to broader adoption.
Key facts
Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed a seven-day live pilot settling $750,000 in cross-border payment obligations using USDC
750,000 USDReported by Crypto.News
Funds reached Visa in under an hour including during weekends
Reported by Crypto.News
Traditional cross-border settlement can take a day or longer outside banking hours
Reported by Crypto.News
Lloyds purchased USDC through UK-regulated exchange Archax
Reported by Crypto.News
Lloyds used its own Canton node while Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain
Reported by Crypto.News
Visa reported nearly 200% year-over-year growth in stablecoin-linked card payment volume across more than 160 programs globally
200 %Reported by Crypto News Flash
Business and commercial programs accounted for approximately 17% of Visa's stablecoin-linked card volume in fiscal 2026 year-to-date
17 %Reported by Crypto News Flash
Visa survey of 14,250 consumers across 14 Asia-Pacific markets found 46% likely to use stablecoins within five years but only 6% accurately understand how they work
46 %Reported by Crypto.News
What happened
Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed a seven-day live pilot that used USDC to settle $750,000 in cross-border payment obligations between Lloyds' Corporate Markets branch in Jersey and Visa in the United States. Lloyds purchased USDC through the UK-regulated exchange Archax and transferred it via its own Canton network node, while Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain. Funds reached Visa in under an hour even during weekends, compared with traditional settlement that can take a day or longer outside banking hours. The trial focused on institutional settlement infrastructure rather than consumer payments. Separately, Visa reported nearly 200% year-over-year growth in stablecoin-linked card payment volume across more than 160 programs globally, with business and commercial programs generating approximately 17% of that volume in fiscal 2026 year-to-date. A Visa survey of 14,250 consumers across 14 Asia-Pacific markets found 46% are likely to use stablecoins within five years, though only 6% accurately understand how they work.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Crypto.News
Lloyds uses USDC to settle $750,000 with Visa in under an hour
- Update
Lloyds and Visa complete seven-day USDC settlement pilot
Live pilot settled $750,000 in cross-border obligations with funds reaching Visa in under an hour including weekends
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by Crypto News Flash
Lloyds and Visa Test $750K USDC Settlement Beyond Banking Hours
- Official statement
Visa releases stablecoin-linked card program data
Nearly 200% YoY growth in payment volume across 160+ programs; business/commercial at 17% of volume
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Lloyds Sends Visa $750K in USDC While Banks Are Closed
- Official statement
Visa publishes APAC consumer stablecoin survey results
46% of 14,250 surveyed consumers likely to use stablecoins within five years; only 6% accurately understand them
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 1 Oct 2026, 06:34 UTC: Crypto.News — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 1 Oct 2026, 08:00 UTC: Crypto News Flash — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 1 Oct 2026, 12:00 UTC: Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 1 Oct 2026, 15:40 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 4 independent sources, 5 reports
- 2 Oct 2026, 02:30 UTC: BTC-ECHO — 5 independent sources, 6 reports
- 2 Oct 2026, 07:18 UTC: Finbold — 6 independent sources, 7 reports
- 2 Oct 2026, 08:41 UTC: NewsBTC — 7 independent sources, 8 reports
- 6 Oct 2026, 21:48 UTC: Bitcoin Magazine — 8 independent sources, 13 reports
- 10 Oct 2026, 03:00 UTC: CoinDesk — 9 independent sources, 18 reports
- 11 Oct 2026, 16:55 UTC: The Daily Hodl — 10 independent sources, 20 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Circle, Hong Kong, Base, Ethereum, Tether USDt, China, Japan