Visa Joins Singapore Stablecoin Initiative
Visa has joined a Monetary Authority of Singapore-led initiative exploring how stablecoins can be integrated with existing payment infrastructure. Together with Nium, the payments giant will test stablecoin-based settlement seven days a week.
Visa is stepping up its involvement in Singapore’s digital asset ecosystem by joining BLOOM, an initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
BLOOM – short for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency – is designed to extend the settlement capabilities offered by financial institutions and improve interoperability between traditional payment systems and stablecoin-based payment rails.
The initiative seeks to explore how financial institutions can benefit from faster and more programmable payments without giving up the safeguards underpinning the established financial system.
Nium Becomes First Pilot Partner
As part of the initiative, Singapore-headquartered payments company Nium will become Visa’s first partner to pilot stablecoin settlement under BLOOM.
The two companies will explore how stablecoins can make cross-border money movements more efficient while continuing to use Visa’s existing payment network as well as its security and compliance capabilities.
A key focus is settlement outside conventional banking hours. Payment settlements currently typically take place on business days. The pilot will examine whether stablecoins can enable settlement seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays.
The aim is to reduce delays and give participating financial institutions faster access to funds.
Dollar and Euro Stablecoins
The pilot will support regulated stablecoins backed by major currencies, including US dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoins.
For financial institutions and businesses, such infrastructure could improve the efficiency with which payments are sent, received and managed. Visa also sees the project as a way of making different forms of money interoperable rather than creating parallel and disconnected payment ecosystems.
«The future of payments will be shaped by how different forms of money and payment networks work together for different use cases,» said Adeline Kim, Group Country Manager for Regional Southeast Asia and SVP, Global Clients & Acquirers, Asia Pacific at Visa.
Through BLOOM and the Nium pilot, Visa is examining how stablecoins can complement existing infrastructure while maintaining security, resilience and compliance standards, she added.
«Convergence Is Inevitable»
Nium sees the experiment as part of a broader convergence between conventional financial infrastructure and blockchain-based payment rails.
«We’re building foundational infrastructure for seamless interoperability between traditional and stablecoin-based rails. This convergence is not only inevitable, it’s essential,» said Amaresh Mohan, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Nium.
Combining established payment networks with the efficiency and programmability of digital currencies could create tangible benefits for financial institutions and their customers, he added.
The BLOOM initiative further reinforces Singapore’s role as a testing ground for regulated digital finance, with MAS bringing together public- and private-sector participants to explore how emerging forms of digital money can be incorporated into the existing financial system.
