Visa announced an expansion of its stablecoin settlement capabilities across Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) through an integration with the Aquanow platform. The partnership will enable banks and acquirers to settle transactions in USDC faster and at lower cost.
Payments giant Visa partnered with Aquanow, an institutional digital asset platform specializing in liquidity and infrastructure solutions for banks, FinTech companies, and brokers. Under this initiative, Aquanow’s infrastructure will be connected to Visa’s technology platform.
The integration will allow financial institutions across the CEMEA region to settle transactions using regulated stablecoins such as USDC. The initiative aims to reduce intermediaries and settlement times, while lowering operational complexity and costs.
According to the press release, Visa first began settling transactions in USDC in 2023, and by 2025, the monthly volume of stablecoin operations exceeded $2.5 billion.
Godfrey Sullivan, Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA at Visa, stated that the collaboration with Aquanow is a step toward modernizing settlement tools and reducing reliance on traditional financial systems. Phil Sham, CEO of Aquanow, noted that the joint solution will allow local banks and acquirers to connect to the digital economy with greater speed and transparency.
Visa continues to see strong demand for fast and cost-efficient cross-border transactions and is steadily expanding its digital asset presence by enhancing the crypto capabilities of its DLT platform.
