Visa picks Nium for Singapore stablecoin settlement test

Visa has signed on to Singapore's BLOOM initiative and chosen payments firm Nium as its first partner for a pilot testing weekend settlement with regulated dollar and euro stablecoins.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore-led program will examine how financial institutions can link conventional payment systems with stablecoin rails while keeping existing security and compliance controls, Visa said in an announcement.

Nium will work with Visa to test whether stablecoins can settle payment obligations seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. Traditional payment settlement typically stops on banking days, creating gaps when institutions cannot complete settlement steps.

The pilot covers dollar and euro-denominated stablecoins, though the companies did not name specific tokens. The focus is on the settlement layer behind payments, not on changing how customers initiate transactions. Visa said stablecoins could let institutions manage settlement outside normal banking hours while still using its network and compliance infrastructure.

Adeline Kim, Visa's group country manager for Southeast Asia and senior vice president for Global Clients and Acquirers in Asia Pacific, said different forms of money will need to work across connected payment systems.

"The future of payments will be shaped by how different forms of money and payment networks work together for different use cases," Kim said.

The BLOOM pilot follows other Visa stablecoin settlement projects that have moved beyond blockchain-only tests. In June, a proof of concept with Brale and the Canton Network used Brale's SBC stablecoin to examine onchain institutional settlement while limiting public visibility of sensitive transaction data. Privacy was central because regulated financial institutions need blockchain infrastructure that preserves confidentiality for audit and compliance.

Singapore’s MAS launched BLOOM in 2025 as a framework for settlement systems based on tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. The initiative builds on Project Orchid, the central bank’s earlier work on programmable money and a potential digital Singapore dollar. More than 10 Orchid trials studied practical applications before parts moved into commercial projects.

Circle, DBS, OCBC, Partior, Stripe and UOB were among initial BLOOM participants. In March, Ripple and supply-chain finance firm Unloq tested a trade-finance system on the XRP Ledger where settlement could link with shipment verification. Visa’s pilot adds a global card network and a cross-border provider focused on interoperability between conventional infrastructure and stablecoin settlement.

For Nium, the Singapore test follows its previous stablecoin work. In April, the company announced a USDC payout integration with Coinbase that brought stablecoin-based cross-border payments into its network covering more than 190 countries. Coinbase provides custody and liquidity for that service. Nium said clients could fund payouts on demand instead of maintaining prefunded balances for each market.

The BLOOM pilot tests another part of the process by concentrating on settlement between participating financial institutions and Visa. Amaresh Mohan, Nium’s chief risk and compliance officer, said the two companies are building infrastructure that connects established payment rails with stablecoin settlement.

"This convergence is not only inevitable, it’s essential," Mohan said.

Visa already operates stablecoin settlement across several blockchains. An April expansion added Base, Polygon, Canton, Arc and Tempo to its pilot, bringing supported networks to nine alongside Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar. Visa reported an annualized stablecoin settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion at the time, up 50% from the prior quarter.

By June, issuing banks in Visa’s onchain programs could already settle seven days a week. The company was extending the same capability to acquirers, which receive funds on behalf of merchants after card transactions.

Visa has kept its settlement system from depending on a single token by supporting multiple stablecoins and currencies. Its infrastructure has handled assets including USDC and euro-backed EURC, with blockchain networks added based on institutional requirements.

Chief Executive Ryan McInerney described Visa’s stablecoin approach as "multi-coin, multi-chain" during the July fiscal third-quarter earnings call and said the company was not trying to pick a single token winner. Visa reported $11.63 billion in quarterly net revenue, with payment volume and processed transactions each up 10% year over year and cross-border volume rising 13%.

Visa and Nium have not disclosed a launch timetable, expected transaction volume or which financial institutions beyond the two companies could participate. Mohan said the BLOOM work aims to establish interoperability between traditional and stablecoin rails while keeping compliance requirements built into settlement.

Visa's stablecoin push follows broader industry moves toward tokenized settlement. The BLOOM framework itself drew on earlier MAS digital-currency work, and the pilot adds a major card network to the mix.