Visa, Wealthsimple pilot stablecoin settlement in Canada

Visa Canada and Wealthsimple have launched a pilot for stablecoin settlement in Canada, allowing Wealthsimple to meet certain settlement obligations to Visa Canada using USD Coin.

The move brings Visa's stablecoin settlement programme to Canada for the first time, adding the country to a wider set of pilots already running in other regions.

The pilot uses USDC, a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, for parts of the settlement process between the two companies. It gives Wealthsimple a way to settle some obligations outside traditional settlement cycles.

The companies are testing whether blockchain-based settlement can operate alongside existing card payment infrastructure in Canada. They described the initiative as part of a broader effort to modernise the systems used to move money between financial institutions.

Visa said its stablecoin settlement activity has recently surpassed a USD $7 billion annualised run rate in worldwide settlement volume. Canada is the latest market where it is applying that work.

Wealthsimple is the first Canadian partner in the programme, giving the investment and financial services company an early role in testing how stablecoins can be used in operational settlement flows rather than only in trading or retail crypto activity.

New settlement model

One aim of the pilot is to support settlement seven days a week rather than relying on more limited weekday cycles. The companies also said the model could change liquidity management and treasury operations if adopted more widely.

The initiative is intended to show that stablecoin-based transfers can work within established payment network rules and controls. In practice, that means using blockchain rails to transfer value while keeping settlement within the framework of a major card network.

In Canada, the pilot arrives as financial institutions and payments groups examine where digital assets might fit into mainstream financial infrastructure. Stablecoins, which are designed to maintain a fixed value relative to a reference asset such as the US dollar, have drawn interest from payment companies because they can be transferred at any hour and settle quickly on blockchain networks.

At the same time, their use in regulated financial markets remains limited and subject to evolving oversight. The Canadian pilot, therefore, offers a test case for using a stablecoin in a defined institutional process rather than as a broad consumer payment tool.

Michiel Wielhouwer, President and Country Manager, Visa Canada, said the company's earlier work in other markets informed the Canadian launch.

"Visa was one of the first major payment networks in the world to settle transactions in stablecoin, and grew that capability into a proven, global pilot program now processing billions in settlement volume. Canada is a natural home for what comes next," he said.

"By bringing stablecoin settlement to Canada with Wealthsimple, we are building the infrastructure that lets the best ideas in money movement become reality at scale. Canadian innovation deserves world-class rails, and that is what we are here to provide," Wielhouwer added.

Canada focus

The partnership also gives Wealthsimple a direct role in a part of the payments infrastructure that is usually invisible to consumers. Settlement is the process by which financial obligations between participants are settled after transactions occur, and changes to that process can affect timing, liquidity needs, and operating costs.

Hanna Zaidi, VP Payments Strategy and Chief Compliance Officer at Wealthsimple, said the company sees stablecoins as a structural shift in payments. "Stablecoins represent a fundamental shift in how money moves faster, smarter, and without the constraints of legacy systems. Wealthsimple is proud to be the first Canadian financial institution to bring this capability to life with Visa," she said.

"We see this pilot as the first of many opportunities for Canada to build towards a more dynamic and efficient payments system," she added.

Visa's stablecoin settlement pilots already extend across Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. With Wealthsimple as its first Canadian participant, the company is now testing whether the same approach can be adapted to the Canadian market's requirements.