Lloyds Banking Group and Visa have completed a seven day live pilot using USDC to settle $750,000 in payment obligations, testing whether stablecoins can provide faster cross-border settlement outside traditional banking hours.
The trial involved real transactions between the two financial institutions rather than customer payments. Lloyds acquired USDC through Archax, a UK regulated digital asset exchange, before using it to settle US dollar obligations booked through its Corporate Markets branch in Jersey and transferred to Visa in the United States.
Lloyds said the funds reached Visa in under an hour, including during the weekend. That timing highlights one of the main differences between blockchain based settlement and conventional cross-border processes, which can take a day or longer when transactions are initiated outside normal banking hours.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Lloyds and Visa settled $750,000 of live payment obligations using USDC.
- Funds reached Visa in under an hour, including during the weekend.
- Lloyds used USDC obtained through UK regulated digital asset exchange Archax.
- The pilot tested settlement between a private blockchain environment and a separate public blockchain.
- The trial adds to Visa and Lloyds’ broader work on blockchain based financial infrastructure.
STABLECOINS PUT TO A LIVE SETTLEMENT TEST
The pilot moved stablecoin settlement beyond a controlled demonstration and into an operational banking environment. Lloyds described it as the first stablecoin settlement trial between Visa and a major UK banking group. The distinction between settlement and payments is significant. The experiment did not involve consumers using USDC to make purchases. Instead, it examined the process through which financial institutions exchange and reconcile funds after payment activity has taken place.
For treasury operations, the ability to settle outside conventional banking windows could affect how institutions manage liquidity. Transfers completed during weekends or holidays could reduce the period in which money remains tied up while counterparties wait for settlement.
Peter Left, head of digital assets at Lloyds Banking Group, said the live transactions allowed the bank to test stablecoin settlement in an actual operating environment rather than relying solely on theoretical assessments.
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC BLOCKCHAINS TESTED TOGETHER
The pilot also addressed another challenge facing institutional adoption of digital assets: different financial institutions may use different blockchain networks. Lloyds operated its own node on the Canton Network, which is designed for institutional financial markets and offers configurable privacy features. Visa, meanwhile, supported settlement on a separate public blockchain.
The setup allowed the two companies to examine how settlement could work across different blockchain environments without requiring both parties to operate on the same network. Lloyds said the test demonstrated interoperability between private and public blockchain systems. That issue is becoming increasingly relevant as banks, payment companies and financial market participants experiment with tokenized deposits, stablecoins and other forms of blockchain based money. Institutional adoption may depend not only on transaction speed but also on whether different networks can communicate effectively.
VISA EXPANDS STABLECOIN SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY
The Lloyds trial comes as Visa continues to expand its own stablecoin infrastructure. In September, Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume had exceeded a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times higher than a year earlier. The network also reported more than 160 stablecoin linked card programs globally in its fiscal second quarter. Visa had previously expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains, adding five networks in April. At that stage, the company reported a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate, showing how quickly activity had grown before reaching the higher September figure.
Visa has also described stablecoin settlement as a way to support seven day settlement and improve liquidity management for banks and fintech companies. For Lloyds, the experiment forms part of a broader program examining digital assets and tokenized money. The bank has also participated in UK financial sector initiatives involving tokenized deposits and blockchain based financial transactions.
CONCLUSION
The $750,000 Lloyds and Visa pilot provides a live example of how stablecoins can be used for institutional settlement rather than simply as trading or payment instruments within crypto markets.
The ability to move funds in under an hour, including over a weekend, demonstrates the potential operational advantage of blockchain based settlement. However, the pilot remains a limited test rather than evidence that stablecoins will replace conventional banking rails. Its significance lies in showing how regulated financial institutions can connect stablecoin infrastructure with existing systems while testing interoperability across different blockchain networks.
