Lloyds and Visa Complete $750K Stablecoin Cross-Border Transfer in an Hour

Overview

• Lloyds and Visa settled USD 750,000 in US dollar obligations in the course of a seven-day pilot.

• The funds arrived at Visa in under an hour, which included weekend transfers, according to Lloyds.

• Lloyds operated its proprietary Canton node, whereas Visa ran a separate public blockchain.

Visa and Lloyds Banking Group have finished a live trial involving stablecoin-based settlement for cross-border transactions. Across a span of seven days, both entities successfully settled USD 750,000 worth of US dollar obligations. The transferred funds reached Visa in less than an hour, even over the weekend. Lloyds released these findings on Wednesday, September 30, marking the initial stablecoin settlement test carried out between Visa and a prominent UK banking institution.

Banking-Hours Problem

Cross-border settlements handled via traditional methods often require a day or longer if they begin outside standard banking hours, as noted by Lloyds. Cut-off times frequently delay transfers executed late in the day, on weekends, or during holidays.

This pilot evaluated if stablecoin settlements could deliver enhanced visibility regarding fund statuses and more dependable arrival times during those off-hours. Furthermore, it could decrease the level of liquidity that institutions are required to maintain while settlements are being processed.

How Test Worked

The trial was executed through a series of actual, real-world transactions. To carry out the settlements, Lloyds utilized USDC—a dollar-linked stablecoin—which was acquired via Archax, a digital asset exchange regulated in the UK.

Lloyds recorded the settlement volume through its Jersey-based Corporate Markets branch before transferring the funds to Visa within the United States.

The emphasis of the trial was placed strictly on settlement, defined as the financial institution exchange process used to finalize and reconcile payments, rather than the initial mechanism of how a payment is made.

Also Read: Lloyds Share Price Outlook: What Investors Should Watch in 2026

Private and Public Blockchains

An additional component of the pilot examined whether stablecoin operations can function seamlessly across distinct blockchain networks. Lloyds deployed its own node on the Canton Network, a platform featuring configurable privacy controls. Concurrently, Visa backed the settlement on a distinct public blockchain.

This arrangement was designed to test interoperability between public and private systems. Such capability is vital as financial institutions evaluate how digital currency might function across multiple networks rather than remaining restricted to a single closed environment.

According to Visa, the trial demonstrated how the complexity of stablecoin settlements can be minimized for institutions seeking to leverage new payment functions across its network.

What Lloyds Said

Peter Left, who serves as the Head of Digital Assets at Lloyds Banking Group, stated that stablecoins hold significant value for cross-border payments, where the transfer of capital across various markets, currencies, and infrastructures introduces extra time and friction.

He noted that successfully settling USD 750,000 in active payment obligations allowed the bank to move past theoretical concepts and evaluate these technologies in actual practice. He also emphasized that network interoperability among blockchains can facilitate future large-scale applications of digital money.

Also Read: Visa Survey Finds 46% of APAC Consumers Likely to Use Stablecoins by 2031

Part of a Wider Push

Serving roughly 28 million customers and about 1 million business clients, Lloyds is concurrently involved in testing SWIFT’s blockchain ledger for cross-border payments utilizing tokenized deposits. The bank also employs tokenized money market fund units and government bonds as collateral for foreign exchange deals.

Visa has likewise maintained active involvement in this sector, having previously experimented with private stablecoin settlements alongside Brale by utilizing the SBC dollar-backed stablecoin on the Canton Network.

For corporations that conduct business and shift funds on a 24/7 basis, limitations tied to traditional banking hours remain a persistent operational hurdle. Although conducted on a minor scale, the Lloyds and Visa pilot involved live financial obligations instead of mere simulations, pointing to stablecoin settlements as a potential solution for trimming wait times during periods when legacy systems are inactive.

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