Overview
Lloyds and Visa settled USD 750,000 in US dollar obligations during a seven-day pilot.
Funds reached Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend, Lloyds said.
Lloyds used its own Canton node while Visa supported a separate public blockchain.
Lloyds Banking Group and Visa have completed a live pilot of stablecoin-based settlement for cross-border transactions. Over seven days, the two companies settled US dollar obligations totaling USD 750,000. Funds reached Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend. Lloyds announced the results on Wednesday, September 30. It is the first stablecoin settlement trial between Visa and a major UK banking group.
Banking-Hours Problem
Traditional cross-border settlement can take a day or more when it is initiated outside banking hours, Lloyds said. Cut-off times delay transfers made late in the day or over weekends and holidays.
The pilot tested whether stablecoin settlement could provide clearer information on fund status and more predictable arrival times during those windows. It could also reduce the liquidity institutions have to hold while settlement completes.
How Test Worked
The pilot ran through a series of real-world transactions. To complete the settlements, Lloyds used USDC, a dollar-linked stablecoin, bought through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange.
Lloyds booked the settlement volume through its Corporate Markets branch in Jersey and then transferred it to Visa in the United States.
The trial focused on settlement, the process by which financial institutions exchange funds to complete and reconcile payments, rather than on how a payment is made in the first place.
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Private and Public Blockchains
A second part of the pilot tested whether stablecoin transactions can work across different blockchain networks. Lloyds used its own node on Canton Network, which offers configurable privacy features. Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain.
The setup aimed to test interoperability between private and public systems. That question matters as institutions consider how digital money might operate across several networks rather than inside one closed system.
Visa said the pilot showed how it can reduce the complexity of stablecoin settlement for institutions exploring new payment capabilities through its network.
What Lloyds Said
Peter Left, Head of Digital Assets at Lloyds Banking Group, said stablecoins could be particularly valuable for cross-border payments, where moving money between markets, currencies and infrastructures adds time and complexity.
He said settling USD 750,000 of live payment obligations let the bank “move beyond theory” and test these capabilities in the real world. He added that interoperability between blockchain networks could support future applications of digital money at scale.
Also Read: Visa Survey Finds 46% of APAC Consumers Likely to Use Stablecoins by 2031
Part of a Wider Push
Lloyds serves 28 million customers and about 1 million businesses. The bank also participates in trials of SWIFT’s blockchain ledger for cross-border payments using tokenized deposits. It uses tokenized government bonds and money market fund units as collateral for foreign exchange transactions.
Visa has also been active in this area. It previously tested private stablecoin settlement with Brale, using the SBC dollar-backed stablecoin on Canton Network.
For businesses that operate and move money around the clock, banking-hour limits remain a practical constraint. The Lloyds and Visa pilot is a small-scale test, but it ran with live obligations rather than as a simulation. It suggests stablecoin settlement could cut wait times during hours when conventional systems are closed.
FAQs
What did Lloyds and Visa test in their pilot?
They tested stablecoin-based settlement for cross-border transactions, settling USD 750,000 in US dollar obligations during a seven-day live pilot between them.
How quickly did funds reach Visa?
Funds reached Visa in under an hour, including weekends. Traditional settlement outside banking hours can take a day or more.
Which stablecoin and exchange did Lloyds use?
Lloyds used USDC bought through Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange, booking the settlement through its Jersey Corporate Markets branch.
Which blockchain networks were involved?
Lloyds used its own Canton Network node with configurable privacy features, while Visa supported settlement on a separate public blockchain.
Why does this pilot matter?
It is the first stablecoin settlement trial between Visa and a major UK banking group, and it used live obligations.