Lloyds Bank announces 'pilot' affecting Visa
It used stablecoins to settle US$750,000 of payment obligations with Visa, with funds reaching Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend.
Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed a Visa “pilot” in a major stablecoin breakthrough. During a seven-day live pilot, Lloyds, which has branches in Birmingham , used stablecoins to settle US$750,000 of payment obligations with Visa, with funds reaching Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend. The first stablecoin settlement trial between Visa and a major UK banking group tested how financial institutions could move money across borders with greater speed, visibility and flexibility.
The seven-day pilot involved a series of US dollar settlement obligations totalling US$750,000. To complete these settlements, Lloyds used USDC purchased through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange. The settlement volume, booked through Lloyds' Corporate Markets branch in Jersey, was then transferred to Visa in the US.
READ MORE New bus passenger rule in England from April 2027 under Andy Burnham The pilot demonstrated how blockchain-based settlement can improve speed and flexibility, with funds reaching Visa in under an hour, including during the weekend. Peter Left, Head of Digital Assets at Lloyds Banking Group, said: "Stablecoins could be particularly valuable for cross-border payments, where moving money between markets, currencies and infrastructures can add time and complexity. "Settling $750,000 of live payment obligations between Lloyds and Visa using stablecoins has allowed us to move beyond theory and test these capabilities in a real-world setting.
“We're seeing how digital money could help make international payments faster, more transparent and more flexible for businesses. "Greater visibility and certainty over the movement of funds can transform liquidity management, while interoperability between blockchain networks helps unlock future applications of digital money at scale.” "Businesses increasingly operate across borders and around the clock, but the infrastructure behind the movement of money has not always offered the same flexibility," said Rob Cameron.
"This pilot with Lloyds shows how stablecoins can work alongside existing banking infrastructure to give financial institutions more choice over how and when they settle funds. Visa’s role is to help make these new forms of money practical, interoperable and trusted at scale," said Mr Cameron, Group Country Manager, UK & Ireland, Visa.
