Visa launches stablecoin advisory practice… expands support for fintechs and banks

Global payments firm Visa has launched a dedicated advisory unit to support companies considering the adoption of stablecoins.

According to Fortune on the 15th, Visa officially launched the 'Stablecoins Advisory Practice' and has begun offering advisory services to fintech firms, banks, and financial institutions. The unit operates under Visa Consulting and Analytics.

Karl Rutstein, global head of Visa Consulting and Analytics, told Fortune, "Helping clients grow is why Visa exists in the stablecoin space," adding, "Stablecoins are one of the areas that clients actually need."

Rutstein said the stablecoin advisory unit has already secured dozens of clients. Major clients include Navy Federal Credit Union, VyStar, and Pathward. The scope of advisory services covers the entire process from developing stablecoin strategies to technical and operational design and actual implementation.

Key use cases cited by clients include cross-border payments for countries with high volatility and business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Visa explained that after the advisory process, some companies may move forward with stablecoin adoption while others may decide that customer demand is insufficient. Visa expects the number of clients for the advisory unit to grow to several hundred in the future.

Meanwhile, Visa has already been conducting experiments in the crypto space. In 2023 it ran a stablecoin payment pilot using USDC, and it currently operates more than 130 stablecoin-linked card issuance programs in over 40 countries. On an annualized basis, the volume of stablecoin payments is about 3.5 billion dollars.