Lloyds Banking Group and Visa have completed a live seven-day pilot settling $750,000 in cross-border U.S. dollar obligations using USDC, testing whether stablecoins can accelerate settlement between financial institutions beyond the limits of traditional banking hours. The funds reached Visa in less than an hour, including during the weekend, highlighting the potential for blockchain-based settlement to operate continuously.
The trial marks the first stablecoin settlement test between Visa and a major UK banking group. Its focus was on settlement—the transfer and reconciliation of funds between institutions—rather than the execution of customer payments. Lloyds acquired USDC through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange, with transactions booked through its Corporate Markets branch in Jersey before being settled with Visa in the United States.
The results illustrate how stablecoins could address a timing constraint in conventional cross-border financial operations. Traditional settlement processes can take a day or longer when transactions begin outside normal banking hours. By contrast, blockchain-based transfers can operate around the clock, potentially allowing institutions to receive funds sooner and gain greater certainty over when obligations have been met.
For banks and businesses, faster settlement could improve liquidity management by reducing the time capital remains tied up in pending transactions. More predictable access to incoming funds may also help institutions manage cash positions across jurisdictions and weekends. However, the pilot’s $750,000 settlement demonstrates the feasibility of a specific transaction process rather than proving that stablecoins can replace traditional settlement systems at scale.
The test also examined interoperability between different blockchain environments. Lloyds operated its own node on Canton, a network with configurable privacy features, while Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain. The pilot demonstrated that the two institutions could complete settlement across these distinct environments, an important consideration as financial institutions explore digital assets across multiple networks.
Connecting private and public blockchain systems could help institutions use different networks without requiring every participant to operate on the same infrastructure. For financial firms, the practical value will depend on whether these connections can support reliable settlement, appropriate privacy controls and the operational requirements of regulated institutions.
The initiative forms part of Lloyds’ broader exploration of digital assets and tokenised money for moving value between businesses and financial institutions. Lloyds Head of Digital Assets Peter Left said the pilot demonstrated how digital money could make international payments faster, more transparent and flexible. Visa’s UK and Ireland Group Country Manager Rob Cameron said the test showed how stablecoins could operate alongside existing banking infrastructure and provide institutions with additional settlement options.
The next question is whether the approach can move beyond a controlled pilot into broader commercial use. Further adoption would depend on factors such as integration with existing systems, regulatory requirements, network interoperability and the ability to handle larger transaction volumes. For now, the trial provides a practical example of how USDC-based settlement could complement conventional banking infrastructure while reducing delays associated with operating hours.
