Lloyds and Visa Complete $750,000 USDC Settlement Pilot in Under an Hour

Lloyds Banking Group and Visa have completed a seven-day live pilot that used the USDC stablecoin to settle $750,000 in cross-border payment obligations. The funds reached Visa in the United States in under an hour, including transactions processed over the weekend.

The test highlights how stablecoins could help financial institutions move money beyond traditional banking hours. It also provides a live example of blockchain settlement operating between a major UK bank and a global payments network.

Stablecoins tested in live settlement

The pilot focused on settlement rather than consumer payments. Lloyds used USDC purchased through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange. The bank booked the settlement activity through its Corporate Markets branch in Jersey before transferring the funds to Visa in the U.S.

Traditional cross-border settlement can take a day or longer when transactions begin outside normal banking hours. The pilot showed how stablecoins could reduce that delay by allowing funds to move around the clock.

The companies tested several elements of the settlement process:

• $750,000 in total U.S. dollar obligations were settled during seven days.
• Funds reached Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend.
• Lloyds used a node on the Canton blockchain.
• Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain.

Testing multi-chain financial infrastructure

The use of different blockchain environments also formed an important part of the trial. Lloyds used Canton’s configurable privacy features, while Visa operated on another public blockchain.

That setup tested whether financial institutions can settle across different blockchain networks without relying on a single infrastructure. Interoperability could become increasingly important as banks and payment companies experiment with tokenized money and digital assets.

Visa has been expanding its stablecoin settlement infrastructure. In December 2025, the company announced U.S. settlement support using USDC for selected banking partners. Visa said its stablecoin settlement strategy aims to improve funds movement, liquidity management and availability outside traditional business days.

For Lloyds, the latest pilot adds to its broader exploration of digital assets and tokenized money. The bank has identified international stablecoin payments as an area of development for business customers.

The $750,000 trial remains a pilot rather than a broad commercial rollout. However, it demonstrates how stablecoins can be integrated into institutional settlement processes while connecting traditional banking infrastructure with multiple blockchain networks.