Visa has unveiled an onchain credit model that connects its VisaNet settlement data with blockchain-based lending infrastructure, giving lenders a way to finance stablecoin-linked card programs and fintech firms against their operating cash flows.
Announced Sept. 9, the model is designed to use payment settlement records alongside onchain transaction activity when assessing credit. The approach could give newer card issuers and payment programs access to working capital based on receivables and demonstrated repayment behavior, rather than relying only on conventional credit histories built over several years.
Visa said the early deployment, developed with settlement-finance provider Credit Coop, has financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023. The company reported zero defaults across the participating facilities, although it did not provide details on the number of programs, their size, lending terms, or the period over which each facility has operated.
Credit decisions tied to settlement flows
The system links two sets of data that are usually managed separately. VisaNet provides records of card-program settlement obligations, while public blockchain activity can show borrowing, collateral movements and repayments executed through smart contracts.
Credit Coop uses those inputs, with customer authorization, to assess credit performance and automate financing for stablecoin-linked card programs. Smart contracts handle funding, collateral management and repayment, Visa said.
That structure places settlement receivables at the center of the lending arrangement. A card program expecting funds from payment settlement can use those expected flows to support short-term financing, while lenders can monitor repayment and collateral activity onchain.
According to Visa, more than 3,000 borrow events and 9,000 repayment events have been processed programmatically through the model. Recording those transactions on a blockchain creates a timestamped audit trail, though lenders would still need to evaluate the legal enforceability of settlement claims and the operational risks surrounding card programs and stablecoin issuers.
Credit Coop founder and chief executive Walker said the arrangement extends capital onchain as programs grow while enforcing repayment from settlement flows. The model is aimed at a persistent financing problem for payment startups: card spending can generate receivables every day, but settlement timing can leave programs needing liquidity before funds arrive.
Visa cites rapid growth in stablecoin programs
The announcement arrives as Visa reports increased activity across stablecoin settlement and stablecoin-linked cards on its network. The company said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now run on Visa’s network, and payment volume across those programs has risen nearly 200% year over year.
Visa also said its stablecoin settlement volume has passed a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing growth of more than 15 times from a year earlier. Annualized run-rate figures extrapolate recent transaction activity over a full year and do not necessarily represent completed settlement volume for the prior 12 months.
The company has been building the Visa Stablecoin Platform to support settlement in stablecoins and help issuers launch card programs tied to digital-dollar balances. Its new credit model adds a lending layer to that effort, connecting payment activity to financing rather than limiting stablecoins to settlement or customer spending.
Visa’s scale gives it a large pool of potential data for such a system. The company processed nearly $17 trillion in total volume during its 2025 fiscal year, according to its financial disclosures. Only a small share of that activity currently involves stablecoin-linked programs, but the onchain credit model targets a segment where the timing of funds can be more valuable than sheer transaction volume.
Onchain lending has a large but uneven record
Visa said more than $694 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have been originated through onchain lending protocols since 2020, citing its Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard. These protocols operate continuously, allowing users to borrow and repay outside traditional banking hours.
The figure demonstrates the depth of blockchain-based credit activity, but onchain lending has largely been associated with crypto-native borrowers, overcollateralized loans and volatile digital assets. Visa’s proposed use case is different in structure: financing would be connected to payment-program receivables and card settlement flows rather than chiefly to traders borrowing against token holdings.
That distinction could make the model more relevant to fintech firms that generate recurring transaction revenue but require liquidity to cover settlement obligations. It also gives lenders a more specific performance signal than wallet balances or token collateral alone, assuming the settlement data is accurate, authorized and integrated effectively with the smart-contract system.
The model does not remove the risks attached to stablecoin infrastructure. Card programs remain exposed to operational failures, compliance requirements, the credit quality of counterparties and the redemption reliability of the stablecoins used in settlement. Smart-contract automation can speed funding and repayment, but it also requires safeguards against coding errors, oracle failures and disputes over data inputs.
A test of whether payment data can lower funding friction
Visa’s early results suggest that automated settlement finance can be operated at meaningful scale, though the company’s reported zero-default record covers only the participating facilities and should not be treated as a measure of the broader onchain lending market.
The next test will be whether the model can support a larger and more varied set of card programs without weakening underwriting standards. Lenders will need to determine how much weight to give recurring settlement flows, how collateral should be managed during stress, and how quickly financing can be adjusted if program volumes decline.
For Visa, the initiative extends its role from processing payments and settling funds into supplying data that could support credit decisions on blockchain rails. That could reduce the working-capital gap for stablecoin-linked card issuers whose payment activity is already visible through VisaNet, while creating a more direct connection between conventional payment infrastructure and onchain financial contracts.
Explore how stablecoin credit models reshape liquidity with Toobit’s RWA insights in this detailed breakdown.
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