Visa joins MAS-led BLOOM initiative, with Nium to pilot stablecoin settlement

Visa said it is joining BLOOM, an initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), as part of an effort to expand settlement capabilities for financial institutions and improve interoperability between traditional payment systems and stablecoin payment rails. BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. Under the framework, institutions are expected to gain access to faster and programmable payment functions while keeping existing safeguards around security and compliance. Visa said Nium will become the first partner under the BLOOM framework and will work with the payments company on a pilot that uses stablecoins for settlement. The pilot will examine whether cross-border fund flows can be handled more efficiently while relying on Visa’s payment network and its security and compliance capabilities. The two companies also plan to study the use of stablecoins for seven-day settlement, including weekends and public holidays, with the stated aim of cutting delays and improving efficiency. The pilot will support regulated stablecoins backed by major currencies, including U.S. dollar- and euro-denominated tokens.