Zero Hash becomes the settlement layer for Visa's 18B-endpoint network, enabling direct wallet transfers and cross-border payouts in stablecoins. The pilots target gig workers and creator remittances.
Visa is expanding the scope of its Visa Direct real-time payments network. Starting now, customers using the system can prefund accounts, make payouts, and transfer directly to digital wallets using stablecoins. The infrastructure comes from Zero Hash, a firm that handles the backend settlement and liquidity for stablecoin transactions.
Visa Direct already processes about $1.7 trillion in real-time volume across a network of over 18 billion endpoints. Layer stablecoin settlement onto that, and the economics of cross-border payments shift. Recipients who do not have a traditional bank account can receive funds directly into a wallet. The cost of moving small sums through correspondent banking – the kind that eats into gig-worker payouts and creator remittances – falls away.
Zero Hash is the plumbing here. The company handles the actual stablecoin settlement, managing liquidity and speed underneath Visa's existing rails. Visa Direct customers get a faster, cheaper path for moving money across borders without building their own stablecoin infrastructure.
This is not Visa's first move into the space. The company partnered with BVNK in January 2026, using a prior Visa Ventures investment to let Visa Direct customers fund payouts with stablecoins and send them into recipients' wallets. On July 16, Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, or VSP, which lets institutions mint, move, and manage stablecoins using Visa's compliance and risk tools. VSP initially supports Open USD (OUSD), with wallet infrastructure that includes mint and burn capabilities.
The pilots Visa has been running target gig-worker payouts, creator remittances, and B2B transfers. Each of those is a segment where speed matters, where recipients often lack a bank account, and where the cost of moving small amounts through legacy systems eats into margins that are already thin.
Every institution that plugs into VSP or uses stablecoin prefunding on Visa Direct becomes a source of demand for the underlying tokens. OUSD's inclusion as the initial supported stablecoin on VSP is worth watching – a platform-level endorsement from Visa could meaningfully boost its circulation.
Competition is not standing still. Mastercard has been making its own crypto moves. Stripe acquired Bridge for its stablecoin capabilities. Visa's edge is distribution: embedding stablecoins into infrastructure that already reaches 18 billion endpoints.
The regulatory side is fluid. Stablecoin rules remain in flux across multiple jurisdictions, and any platform as large as Visa's will face scrutiny from regulators. The choice of which stablecoins to support, and which to exclude, will carry enormous market weight.
Zero Hash's positioning is also notable for anyone watching the infrastructure layer. The company is quietly becoming essential plumbing for major financial institutions entering the stablecoin space, handling compliance, settlement speed, and liquidity management in one package.
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