Visa ' s stabilization strategy: cards, settlements and the future

Author:Payment 201

 

According to Visa, for the time being70% to 90% of stable currency supported credit and debit card transactionsThey operate on their networks, and this number continues to grow。

David RolfLeading Visa Ventures — the investment sector of the world's largest payment network whose mission is to find winning companies in strategically important areas for Visa。

Around two and a half years ago, the stabilization currency began to become one of the priority directions. At that time, the team no longer viewed encryption as a “card product”, but began to see stability currency as a real solution to real problems。

Since then, Visa has:

• Launched7 x 24 hour stable currency settlement

• Support for useUSDCPrecharge for cross-border financial flows (through Visa Direct)

• With Rain andWestern UnionWhen the company works, it willStable-dollar-supported cardsRemittances that have never had contact with encrypted money. People

David has also removed key gaps that remain:

• local currency liquidity

• B2B PAYMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

• link programmability (on-chain programme)

And Visa Ventures wants to see more direction among the builders。

This is from San Francisco, 2026A very stable conference

Guest: David Rolf
Moderator: Drew Rogers

 

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
I think for many of us, it was about two and a half to three years ago, suddenly, "getting to know." As we begin to see stable currencies, we realize that they are indeed solving certain problems. I think the currency of stability has gone far beyond the product market convergence phase。

Moderator (by:
David Rolf is responsible for Visa Ventures under the Visa flag. He explained how Visa provided financial support for the next wave of global financial infrastructure and how the world ' s largest payment network operated at the speed of software. According to our understanding, between 70% and 90% of stable currency supported credit and debit card transactions were made on Visa's network. Overall, people still need to understand more: the stability coin is not for the crazy Degen DeFi players, it's for real problems. If I were a builder in this room, I would think, "How do I interact with Visa?" How does Visa use its network, scale, relationships and billions of account vouchers to help me build my business? Please listen to Stable Dash。

Moderator:
The city by the Golden Gate Bridge. It is indeed a city full of miracles。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
David, thank you for taking time with us in San Francisco. There was a very warm atmosphere. You just conducted a conversation on stage. Who are you in charge of

David Rolf:
Sure. I've just hosted a conversation with the guests of Rain Farooq and Western Union Malcolm. They announced a collaboration, essentially with Visa: funds transferred through Western Union, which can be received by the recipient, and which can be distributed not only in cash but also directly to a Visa card issued by Western Union and supported by a stable currency. So I think it will have a great impact on many people。

For those who would have received only cash, they can now actually keep the money in the digital economy. They can also keep their funds in stable currency if they wish. So, yes, this is an interesting conversation。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
Yeah, there's a lot of energy here today, especially in this area, where Visa's office is a few blocks away, and I'm not wrong。

Visa has been involved in this area. We actually talked to Cuy before, when we made a podcast with Rain Farooq, Cuy and me. We talked together. It's really cool to see Visa participating in this discussion, and not only to see Visa on the side of the product, but also to see you on the side of the wind。

Perhaps before we begin, you can give us a description of your role, your responsibilities, and how you see those builders and founders, especially in the area of currency stabilization, such as the current entrepreneurial environment, team conditions and possible gaps. But let's start with your position in this organization。

David Rolf:
Sure. I've been working for Visa for over eight years, and I've been leading the Venture team for the last three and a half years. We are not a traditional venture capital fund. We certainly want very good financial returns, but that is not our primary objective. We're Visa's employees, we report to Chief Product and Strategic Officer Jack Forestell. So we have a high degree of strategic consistency。

Our mission is to really find companies that will win in areas that are very important to Visa. Some are current business partners, some are not, and more and more are companies active in areas that we believe are “very important to Visa”。

We have only one Ventures team in charge of global investment. More than half of our portfolio is outside North America. The currency of stability is one of our areas of focus, because it is very dynamic. Many founders are using this technology to solve real problems. For us, when we see a wave of technology resolving real problems, that is the most interesting and exciting stage。

I think that the currency has gone far beyond product market convergence, but at the same time people are still exploring what it can do. So over the past two years, we have spent a lot of time understanding this area and communicating with a lot of people. We did make some investments, but our real concern is: what can we learn? How can we help these companies? How do we connect them to other teams inside Visa? How do we introduce them to other risk investors who fit them? It's really interesting。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
I have a problem with that. This moment of stability -- and what you call the "real solution" -- It's strategic for Visa's business. You've been doing this for three years. From your own point of view, how did your perception of the stable coin change in these three years? When did the stabilization currency really become a strategic focus? What do you think of it now

David Rolf:
Personally, and also from Visa's point of view, we actually had an encryption team long ago. And we've been through a lot of encrypted cards, credit cards, debit cards, etc. So we were involved at the earliest. But those are not really investment opportunities。

The real “aware” took place about two and a half years ago, when we began to see the currency of stability and realized that they were solving real problems. In particular, there are things, frankly, where Visa itself is deeply involved, such as financial flows. We are well aware of financial flows — the question is: how can they be accelerated

So for me, it's a continuous learning process, constant communication, trying to understand this area. And also thinking, as Visa, where can we help? Where can we be involved? What can we do

If I look back on some of our later product capabilities, such as stable currency settlement -- that means a 7x24-hour settlement. This means that a transaction that could have been settled at 8 p.m. on Friday night can now be settled at 9 p.m. on Friday night, not until Monday. This is actually accelerating financial flows, which are important to us and to our partners。

STABLE CURRENCY SETTLEMENT IS ONE ASPECT. WE'RE ALSO USING IT. WE ARE NOT ONLY PARTNERS AND INVESTORS, BUT WE ARE ALSO USING IT. FOR EXAMPLE, WE ACCEPT USDC AS A CLEARING FUND FOR THE ADOPTION OFVisa DirectCross-border financial flows by networks are pre-filled。

There are, of course, stable currency support payments, such as Visa cards, debit cards, credit cards. From what we understand, about 70% to 90% of stable currency supported credit and debit card transactions are on our network. So this is the path of continuous learning, constant communication and linking resources and teams。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
Card companies like Rain, we like to know teams like this. Their cooperation with Visa combines stable currency settlement with cards, very beautiful. A combination such as Visa and Rain, for many of the builders of infrastructure and assets present, can really boost and accelerate trade volumes。

In other words, what gaps, problems, pains or, more broadly, opportunities do you see in the market today? When you go back to thinking about strategies within the team, are there any areas where you think, "This should be the direction of entrepreneurs?" How does it feel now

David Rolf:
I can answer in several ways。

First, I think there is still a need for more cognitive education in general. A lot of people still think that the stabilization money is for those "crazy Degen DeFi players." But it is actually solving real problems. As we were talking about the cases of Rain and Western Union, the payees are not encrypted original users at all. It's just a technical solution。

if i look at some of the problems that still exist, such as on/off ramp, that is, local currency liquidity. if you consider the so-called “stablecoin sandwich” (stabilized currency transit structure), many countries do not have sufficient local currency liquidity when you need to convert stable currency into local currency. so there are a lot of companies now trying to solve the liquidity problem. it's a key factor that will help the effect。

bottom technology itself is good. i think the problem is more at the level of an adoption。

there are also some complexities, such as how you can send stable coins on different block chains, how to manage these, how to ensure that you send the money to the right address on the right chain, which still exists. while some are already doing so, they are still in the “basic phase”. for example, "fat finger error" is a problem that you want to be systematically eliminated。

AND ONE MORE THING I WOULD MENTION IS THE ABILITY TO BRING INFORMATION FROM PAYMENTS TOGETHER. STABILIZING CURRENCY IS A WAY OF MOVING MONEY, BUT IT IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION. I THINK THERE'S A HUGE OPPORTUNITY IN THE B2B PAYMENT. STABILIZED COINS CAN WORK HERE, BUT MUCH MATURITY IS NEEDED, AND MUCH NEEDS TO BE BUILT UP, SUCH AS A CONNECTION TO ACCOUNTS PAYABLE (AP), ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (AR) SYSTEMS. THESE ARE MOVING FORWARD, BUT THEY ARE KEY DIRECTIONS IF QUALITATIVE CHANGE IS TO BE ACHIEVED。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
Some would describe Visa as an “information transmission network” or an agreement for the transmission of information between different participants. What do you think

If you combine this with a stable currency, what information do you think is valuable? Like payee information, geographic information, or something

David Rolf:
I think that's a good description. I agree. A part of Visa's work is indeed a message. We are, of course, actually transferring funds while transmitting information about funds among cooperative banks。

I believe that there is indeed much to add to the flow of funds。

But at the same time, there's something that you'll lose. For example, someone would ask, "Is this what all future payments are for?" Maybe, but like cash and cheques, they all have disadvantages. Once the money's gone, it's gone. Like wire transfers。

I think that a stable currency is a very good way of transferring money, which is not always the cheapest, but its advantage is “software speed”。

I also believe that there is a very great opportunity, in terms of programmability. Because it's on the chain, it becomes very interesting when you combine it with other systems, such as triggering automatic liquidation or automatic enforcement of certain conditions. I know a lot of people are already doing this。

BUT I HAVE JUST MENTIONED MORE ABOUT COMMUNICATING INFORMATION WITH PAYMENTS IN THE B2B SCENE, WHICH NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED AND BUILT。

 

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
So in the B2B scenario, if you think of an “ideal state”, what is the most used example? Payout, fund management, or something

David Rolf:
I think it's early. It's hard to draw conclusions。

indeed, there are already companies that are using stabilization currency as a payout track, especially those with a wide geographical distribution。

I also heard an interesting saying: it's a little weird if you work for a globally distributed stable currency company, but you don't get paid in stable currency. So I think that's the state of the early adopters。

However, to be truly mainstreamed, considerable infrastructure and compliance will be required。

Especially in cross-border scenarios, I think the most central example is cross-border financial flows. But the key point is that when funds enter or leave the system, this paragraph is very important and you must be regulated locally。

So, overall, this is still an early stage. But we are very excited by the examples that you are trying and exploring. There are a lot of people in Visa who think about these issues every day, so we're happy to connect to these resources。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
This is an interesting field. Last question。

What do you want to know most if you face a house of stable currency builders — many of them industry seniors, entrepreneurs, infrastructure builders, investors? What do you want them to understand most about Visa, or Visa Ventures

David Rolf:
I'd say the energy here is really strong. I was upstairs, the room was full, there were people outside, and the weather in San Francisco was fine today。

If it is Visa, I think the most important thing is to understand that we are “enabling”. We're a network。

We will find ways to use the assets that we have built to help businesses succeed. This applies to large companies as well as to start-ups。

There are many different points of contact within Visa, and thousands of us wake up every day and wonder: How can we use the capabilities that we have built to help partners succeed

So if you're the builder in this room, you should think: How can Visa help you? What can we do for you on the basis of our networks, size, relationships and hundreds of millions of terminal and billions of account vouchers

I encourage you to reflect on this issue and then to find the right person and reach out。

When I talk to a lot of companies, I ask them, "How do you want Visa to help you?"

We have many assets, we are global, and we want to work with companies that we can help them succeed。

Moderator (Drew Rogers):
Great. I'm glad you're in this area, and I appreciate your time. We'll talk next time。

David Rolf:
Thank you. I enjoyed this conversation。

Moderator:
Have fun。

Moderator (by:
These are our exclusive conversations with David Rolf. The city by the Golden Gate Bridge. A truly magical city。