Visa Opens Settlement Data to Onchain Lending

The update

Visa is opening its settlement network to blockchain lending protocols. The payment giant announced that lenders can now use VisaNet data alongside onchain transaction records to assess the creditworthiness of stablecoin-linked card programs and fintechs. This allows borrowers to secure working capital using their payment history as collateral.

Why it matters

Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has exceeded a $20 billion annualized rate, up more than 15-fold year over year. By integrating trusted payment data with onchain lending, Visa aims to address a bottleneck for fintechs: access to capital. The company argues that traditional financing often requires significant scale or operating history, whereas this new model could streamline underwriting.

What to watch

Early participants include Credit Coop, a protocol that has already financed over $2.5 billion in settlement volume since 2023. The success of this model will depend on how quickly other fintechs adopt the new credit facilities and how lenders price risk using the combined data sets.

Sources

• decrypt.co — Core announcement details and partnership example (Credit Coop)
• cointelegraph.com — Growth metrics (160 programs, 200% YoY volume) and context on stablecoin stack investment
• coindesk.com — Financial metrics ($20B annualized settlement volume) and lender access to data