Visa Introduces USDC Settlement in the U.S. and Promotes Onchain Payments
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 17 2025
0mins
Should l Buy V?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
Visa's USDC Settlement Initiative: Visa Inc. is modernizing payment systems by allowing U.S. institutions to settle obligations using USDC, a stablecoin, alongside traditional methods, enhancing speed and liquidity in transactions.
Collaboration with Circle and Blockchain Development: Visa is partnering with Circle to develop Arc, a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, aimed at supporting Visa's commercial activities and USDC settlements, further integrating blockchain technology into its operations.
Strategic Positioning in Financial Services: This initiative positions Visa as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure, with plans for broader U.S. access by 2026 and the establishment of a Stablecoins Advisory Practice to assist financial institutions.
Stock Performance and Market Outlook: Visa's shares have increased by 8.7% over the past year, contrasting with a decline in the industry, while other financial service stocks like OppFi, FirstCash, and Dave have shown strong earnings growth and upward revisions in estimates.
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Analyst Views on V
Wall Street analysts forecast V stock price to rise
25 Analyst Rating
23 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 320.300
Low
330.00
Averages
406.59
High
450.00
Current: 320.300
Low
330.00
Averages
406.59
High
450.00
About V
Visa Inc. is a global payments technology company. It facilitates global commerce and money movement across more than 200 countries and territories among a global set of consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities through technologies. It operates through the Payment Services segment. It provides transaction processing services (primarily authorization, clearing and settlement) to its financial institution and merchant clients through VisaNet, its proprietary advanced transaction processing network. It offers a range of Visa-branded payment products that its clients, including nearly 14,500 financial institutions, use to develop and offer payment solutions or services, including credit, debit, prepaid and cash access programs for individual, business and government account holders. It also provides value-added services to its clients, including issuing solutions, acceptance solutions, risk and identity solutions, open banking solutions and advisory services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Acquisition Overview: Visa is set to acquire Argentina-based Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay, which provide credit, debit, and prepaid card processing and real-time payment services, respectively, with the transaction expected to close in Visa's fiscal second quarter of 2026, marking a significant expansion in the Latin American market.
- Accelerated Technology Deployment: This acquisition will enable Visa to accelerate the deployment of advanced technologies such as tokenization, biometric authentication, intelligent risk tools, and agentic commerce solutions, thereby enhancing its competitiveness and market share in the digital payments sector.
- Market Opportunities: Visa CEO Ryan McInerney stated that this acquisition is a crucial step for Visa in Argentina, with expectations to significantly boost digital payment adoption and modernize financial services and infrastructure across the country.
- Regional Strategy: Gabriela Renaudo, Visa's country manager for Argentina and the Southern Cone, highlighted that the acquisition will create substantial market opportunities for Visa in Argentina, further solidifying its leadership position in the Latin American fintech landscape.
See More
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- Successful Strategic Transformation: Advent International's sale of Prisma and Newpay successfully separates the group into three independent platforms while retaining Payway, demonstrating its deep strategic vision and positioning in the Argentine payments market.
- Significant Transaction Scale: The transaction involves Prisma and Newpay, with Prisma processing over six billion transactions annually, establishing itself as a trusted partner for Argentina's leading banks and highlighting its critical role in payment infrastructure.
- Accelerated Payment Innovation: Newpay facilitates real-time account-to-account payments and QR payments, managing bill payments for over 7,500 companies, and is expected to drive further digital payment adoption and innovation through its integration with Visa.
- Future Growth Potential: As a standalone platform, Payway will continue to expand high-value merchant solutions, with expectations to deepen merchant relationships and increase recurring revenues as digital payment adoption accelerates.
See More
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- Strategic Acquisition: Visa has announced its acquisition of Prisma Medios de Pago and Newpay in Argentina, aiming to enhance payment solution innovation by integrating both companies' technology platforms with Visa's global network, thereby accelerating the adoption of digital payments.
- Technology Integration: Prisma provides credit, debit, and prepaid card processing services, while Newpay operates real-time payment services and bill payment platforms, and their combination will enhance payment speed and security for consumers, strengthening Visa's competitive position in the Argentine market.
- Market Opportunities: Visa executives noted that this investment will drive the adoption of digital payments and modernize financial services infrastructure in Argentina, reflecting Visa's commitment to the country's economic growth and aiming to enhance its competitiveness in global commerce.
- Transaction Timeline: The transaction is expected to close in Visa's fiscal second quarter of 2026, pending closing conditions, and once completed, it will lay the groundwork for Visa's expansion in the Latin American market.
See More
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- Residential Investment Dilemma: CoStar invested $850 million into Homes.com in 2025, resulting in a net operating loss, and although management plans to cut over $300 million in investment, breakeven for this segment is not expected until 2030.
- Margin Improvement: The information and marketplace segment achieved a 47% profit margin in Q3 2025, up 400 basis points year-over-year, driven by a 23% increase in CRE transaction volume, showcasing the strength of its core business.
- Stock Buyback Plan: CoStar's board authorized a $1.5 billion stock buyback and holds $942 million in net cash, with the stock currently trading at about 23 times the 2026 EBITDA forecast, indicating relative attractiveness.
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- Revenue Growth Expectations: Analysts anticipate Akamai's quarterly revenue to reach $1.08 billion, up from $1.02 billion a year earlier, reflecting the company's positive performance amid recovering market demand.
- Strategic Partnership for Security: On December 17, Akamai partnered with Visa to enhance identity verification and user recognition, a move that is expected to bolster its competitive edge in the agentic commerce sector.
- Stock Price Increase: Akamai shares rose 0.8% to close at $109.31 on Wednesday, suggesting market optimism regarding the upcoming earnings report and reflecting investor confidence in the company's future growth.
See More
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- Program Overhaul Context: United Airlines is significantly revamping its MileagePlus program to reward high-spending customers, effective April 2, marking the largest change in over a decade and reflecting the airline's efforts to differentiate itself in a competitive market.
- Mileage Reward Changes: Customers holding United credit cards will earn 6 miles per dollar spent on tickets, while those without the card will see their earnings drop to 3 miles, significantly enhancing the value proposition for credit card users and encouraging card adoption.
- Redemption Rate Discounts: Cardholders will now redeem miles at a discount of at least 10%, for instance, an economy-class ticket that costs 15,000 miles will now be available for 13,500 miles, incentivizing more customers to apply for the credit card to maximize their travel value.
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See More
