Visa and Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation have agreed to explore blockchain-powered digital payment infrastructure as the two organizations assess how distributed ledger technology could work alongside established financial networks.
The collaboration will focus on digital payment solutions, payment infrastructure and broader digital finance services, combining Visa’s global payments capabilities with ADI Foundation’s distributed ledger infrastructure.
The partnership follows the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation. At this stage, the initiative remains exploratory, with neither organization announcing a specific product, commercial deployment or launch timeline.
Visa and ADI Assess Blockchain Payment Infrastructure
Under the agreement, Visa and ADI Foundation will examine ways to improve the speed and efficiency of payment flows while assessing infrastructure capable of supporting digital asset transactions.
A key area of study will be how existing electronic payment networks can interact with blockchain technology without requiring financial institutions to replace their current systems.
ADI Foundation has focused its blockchain infrastructure on institutional requirements, including regulatory compliance, interoperability and integration with day-to-day financial operations.
Vira Platonova, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Money Movement at Visa, said financial institutions are increasingly looking at new ways to exchange value as interoperability and trusted networks become more important.
“The way money moves is evolving rapidly,” Platonova said.
She added that Visa and ADI would explore opportunities involving businesses, consumers and the wider payments industry by bringing together their respective expertise in payment networks and blockchain infrastructure.
Svyatoslav Senyuta, Chief Business Officer at ADI Foundation, said the next phase of digital finance will require infrastructure capable of working with institutions already responsible for moving money around the world.
The collaboration will examine how blockchain infrastructure and traditional electronic payment networks could complement each other across payment solutions, infrastructure and other areas of digital finance.
Neither organization has identified a blockchain, stablecoin, settlement asset or implementation timeline for the initiative.
Visa Expands Digital Asset Settlement Tests
The agreement with ADI Foundation comes as Visa continues to explore blockchain and digital asset settlement across several markets.
Earlier this month, Lloyds used USDC to settle $750,000 in payment obligations with Visa as part of a seven-day live pilot. Lloyds Corporate Markets Jersey acquired USDC through UK-regulated digital asset exchange Archax before transferring the funds to Visa.
The transaction was completed in less than an hour and demonstrated the potential for settlement to take place outside conventional banking hours, including over the weekend.
The pilot focused on settlement between financial institutions rather than enabling customers to make payments directly using stablecoins. Its purpose was to assess whether blockchain-based digital dollars could support round-the-clock settlement when traditional banking infrastructure was unavailable.
Visa’s collaboration with ADI Foundation takes a similarly institutional approach, although the technology and assets that could eventually be used have not yet been specified.
ADI Foundation’s strategy is centered on developing blockchain infrastructure that connects with existing financial networks rather than requiring institutions to operate separate systems.
Visa has also pursued stablecoin initiatives in Asia. In August, the company reached an agreement with South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group to explore stablecoin payment infrastructure, including issuance, transfers and redemption.
The companies also planned to examine a South Korea-focused stablecoin model and the potential use of digital assets for card payment settlement.
Days later, Visa and Dunamu agreed to explore stablecoin payments, international remittances and artificial intelligence-based financial services. That collaboration also stopped short of announcing a specific product, blockchain, jurisdiction or launch date.
Visa’s Stablecoin Activity Accelerates in 2026
Visa’s blockchain strategy has expanded beyond individual pilot projects and partnership announcements during 2026.
By September, the company’s stablecoin-linked card network had grown to 160 programs, while stablecoin payment volume was nearly 200% higher than a year earlier. Visa also reported an annualized stablecoin settlement rate of $20 billion.
Earlier in the year, Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot reached a $7 billion annualized run rate after the company added five blockchains to the initiative.
Those additions expanded the network to nine supported blockchains, alongside networks including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar.
Visa has taken different approaches depending on the payment and settlement requirements involved.
In June, its work with Brale and Canton Network focused on private stablecoin settlement using SBC, a US dollar-backed stablecoin. The proof of concept examined whether financial institutions could settle transactions onchain while keeping sensitive transaction information away from public networks.
In July, Visa introduced an enterprise stablecoin system intended to allow banks, fintech companies and payment providers to mint, hold, transfer and redeem digital dollars through a single infrastructure platform. Open USD was selected as the first supported asset.
ADI Foundation Focuses on Institutional Blockchain Adoption
For ADI Foundation, the agreement with Visa supports its broader strategy of connecting public and private sector institutions with blockchain infrastructure designed around regulatory and operational requirements.
ADI Chain is positioned by the foundation as an institutional blockchain for stablecoins and real-world assets, with a particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
The foundation has set a longer-term goal of connecting 1 billion people and institutions to the digital economy by 2030.
ADI Foundation is registered as a distributed ledger technology foundation in Abu Dhabi Global Market under the DLT Foundations Regulations 2023. It was founded by Sirius International Holding, the technology-focused subsidiary of International Holding Company.
The foundation lists major global financial institutions, including BlackRock, Mastercard, Visa and Franklin Templeton, among organizations it works with.
Despite the broader expansion of blockchain-based payments and settlement infrastructure, the Visa-ADI Foundation collaboration remains at an early stage.
Neither party has committed to a commercial deployment, specific digital asset or blockchain network. The current agreement instead establishes a framework for assessing how blockchain infrastructure and established electronic payment networks could work together as institutional adoption of digital finance continues to develop.
