Visa has partnered with Anchorage Digital to support Western Union’s USDPT stablecoin as a native settlement asset on VisaNet. Under the arrangement announced on November 12, eligible companies and institutions can use the dollar-pegged token to meet payment obligations on the Visa network instead of traditional cash transfers.

USDPT is issued and custodied by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered digital asset bank. It becomes the first stablecoin from Anchorage to receive this status. The companies also established a framework to evaluate additional Anchorage-issued tokens for future inclusion.

Institutional Settlement Focus

The integration targets institutional settlement rather than consumer payments. Qualifying Visa participants gain an additional digital dollar option for settling network obligations. Individual cardholders will see no change at the point of sale, and not every transaction will involve the stablecoin.

Details on which specific partners qualify, redemption processes, fees, and expected volumes remain undisclosed. Access is currently limited to institutions that meet criteria for Anchorage-issued assets within VisaNet.

USDPT Background and Western Union Use

Western Union launched USDPT on May 4, 2026, on the Solana blockchain. Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. serves as issuer. The stablecoin is fully backed by reserves and redeemable one-to-one for U.S. dollars. It was designed for near-instant, continuous settlements between Western Union and its agent network, as well as treasury management and cross-border transfers.

On a recent earnings call, Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan noted that two agents in Latin America were already using the settlement feature, with more expected to join. Circulation stood at approximately $20 million, supporting $150 million to $200 million in transaction volume over a 30-day period prior to the Visa announcement.

The Visa settlement use case remains separate from Western Union’s Stablecard product, launched in August 2026 with Rain. That consumer offering links a USDPT wallet to a Visa card in 37 markets, with plans to expand beyond 60 markets. Recipients can hold dollar value and spend at Visa merchants or ATMs.

Visa’s Expanding Stablecoin Settlement Activity

Visa’s broader stablecoin settlement program reached an annualized run rate above $25 billion as of its October 27 earnings report, ten times the year-earlier level. The figure represents the pace of activity rather than cumulative volume for the period. Services span 10 blockchains across all five geographic regions, supporting more than 225 stablecoin-linked card programs and 5 million cards in over 50 countries.

Earlier figures showed an annualized pace above $20 billion in September. Recent additions have included networks such as Monad. A separate pilot with Lloyds Banking Group demonstrated settlements completing in under an hour, including weekends.

Operational Aims and Anchorage Role

Conventional cross-border arrangements often require prefunded balances in destination accounts, tying up working capital across time zones and banking hours. USDPT support aims to enable round-the-clock movement of funds, faster reconciliation, and reduced reliance on those balances. The companies have not linked the integration to lower remittance fees for senders or recipients.

Anchorage positions the partnership as progress toward its goal of serving as a settlement bank for stablecoins at institutional scale. Beyond issuance, the bank provides custody and infrastructure through its Atlas network for off-exchange settlement, collateral management, and cross-border transfers. Its portfolio of institution-grade stablecoins includes tokens associated with Tether, Ethena, and others, each redeemable one-to-one for dollars.

Anchorage has also expanded its role as custody provider in the U.S.-Mexico remittance corridor. The Visa arrangement extends that institutional reach into a major global payments network.

Neither Visa, Anchorage Digital, nor Western Union has released a specific launch timeline or projected settlement volumes for USDPT on VisaNet. Further details on eligibility, terms, and expansion are expected in future updates.