Visa Clarifies Stablecoins Complement PIX; $7B Settlement Pilot Expands to 140 Card Programs

According to Antônia Souza, Visa's Director of Digital Currencies for Latin America and the Caribbean, in a recent interview on BeInCrypto's Latam Desk podcast, stablecoins are designed to complement rather than rival PIX. Souza clarified that PIX serves real-time everyday payments, while stablecoins are intended for cross-border transactions such as remittances and dollar storage. She emphasized that Visa has developed the Visa Connector to facilitate PIX transactions, viewing the two systems as complementary payment rails.

Visa's stablecoin settlement pilot has reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, allowing issuers and acquirers to settle international obligations directly in stablecoins without fiat conversion. Globally, Visa operates more than 140 stablecoin card programs, primarily through fintechs, with Lemon Cash serving as a Latin American example.