Visa Eyes Future of Payments with Aquanow Stablecoin Partnership

Editorial Team

Last updated 26-11-2025

3 min

Visa partners with Aquanow to integrate stablecoins into payments across the CEMEA region.

Aquanow’s infrastructure connects with Visa's network for faster, cost-effective cross-border transactions.

This collaboration modernises payment systems, reducing legacy issues and improving digital transactions.

It highlights growing mainstream adoption of stablecoins despite their associated risks.

Visa already facilitates significant stablecoin settlements, aiming to enhance the digital economy.

Visa has moved another step closer to giving stablecoins a proper seat at the payments table, teaming up with digital asset specialist Aquanow to speed up settlements across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It’s the kind of partnership that, a few years ago, would’ve sounded a bit futuristic, but here we are—money really is moving with the speed of the internet now, or at least that’s the ambition.

The idea is fairly straightforward. By plugging Aquanow’s infrastructure into Visa’s existing network, banks and payment partners will be able to settle transactions using approved stablecoins like USDC. That means fewer intermediaries, lower costs and—crucially—faster turnarounds. For financial institutions that deal with cross‑border payments (which, let’s be honest, can be a bit of a faff), this could be spot on.

Godfrey Sullivan, who leads product and solutions for Visa across the CEMEA region, noted that bringing stablecoins into the mix helps modernise the “back-end rails of payments,” cutting out legacy complications. And on the flip side, Aquanow’s CEO Phil Sham framed it as opening up new doors for institutions wanting to operate more smoothly in the digital economy. I reckon this sort of collaboration was only a matter of time—especially with Visa already handling billions in stablecoin settlements annually after its earlier USDC pilot.

What caught my attention, though, is how this shift echoes conversations I’ve had with founders around the MENA region. At Arageek we hear plenty from startups trying to build products across borders, and believe it or not, slow settlement systems still trip them up more than any technical challenge. So seeing giants like Visa make these infrastructure moves feels almost overdue, even if the execution will take some ironing out.

Aquanow, for its part, isn’t a lightweight. It handles billions in crypto brokerage and payments each month and has been expanding steadily, including through its regulated presence at Dubai World Trade Centre. And while everyone involved is quick to remind users that virtual assets come with risks—price swings, lack of protection and all that—stablecoins are clearly marching further into mainstream finance.

Where this all lands is anyone’s guess, but if stablecoin settlement really becomes the norm for institutions, it could make today’s systems look a bit old‑school. For now, I’m just chuffed to bits to see more momentum coming from the region… even if I still spell “definately” wrong sometimes.

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