The initiative reduces liquidity constraints by allowing businesses to access their funds in near-real time.
Cross River Bank and card-issuing platform Highnote announced a collaboration on Tuesday to introduce a stablecoin settlement function. The initiative aims to enable faster payments between merchants and financial institutions like Visa.
The functionality would use blockchain technology to provide a faster, more affordable, and efficient way to settle payments, contrary to traditional methods. This new service enables companies to make payments in real-time or near-real-time using digital assets instead of waiting several days for transactions to go through on conventional banking networks.
According to the official release, the collaboration combines Highnote’s card issuance infrastructure with Cross River’s expertise in core banking and payment processing. The development will enable merchants to receive their funds in the form of stable cryptocurrencies after card transactions.
The solution is designed to address the complexities involved in the process of regulatory supervision while harnessing the power of blockchain technology. This may prove beneficial to small and mid-sized businesses that currently have to wait several days for their credit card transactions to be processed and credited into their accounts.
Luca Cosentino, Head of Crypto at Cross River, commented on the function, stating, “For stablecoins to realize their full potential they must operate within unified systems. Cross River’s infrastructure is built to bring onchain settlement safely into mainstream financial services.”
“Our participation in the Visa stablecoin settlement pilot and collaboration with Highnote will enable card issuers to settle network activity seven days a week, demonstrating how this innovation can be implemented effectively in real-world environments,” he added.
The launch of the Cross River and Highnote settlement capability is the practical culmination of a rapidly maturing digital asset ecosystem. This development builds upon Cross River’s November rollout of a compliant stablecoin payment suite.
It established the necessary regulatory and technical infrastructure to bridge fiat and on-chain finance. The integration of this technology into real-world card programs is further validated by Visa’s December launch of its Global Stablecoins Advisory Practice.
Together, these developments indicate a shift from experimental pilots to institutional-grade operations, where major payment networks and infrastructure banks are now guiding financial institutions on how to replace legacy multi-day clearing cycles with 24/7 blockchain-based settlement.
The initiative comes after several years of step-by-step integration between decentralized finance (DeFi) and the traditional banking industry. Cross River has managed to emerge as one of the key infrastructure partners for most of the major fintech companies across the globe. Meanwhile, Highnote has concentrated its efforts on designing highly customizable payment programs.
The use of stablecoins for making payments was previously limited to companies that operated within the crypto space. With the enhancement of regulations and an increasing demand for instant liquidity within the traditional financial service provider industry, there is an increasing quest to adopt blockchain solutions into their normal offerings.
Through the use of stablecoins that simplify the process of settlement, these two firms are exemplifying solutions that have long been sought after by the financial industry for inefficiencies inherent within the financial system.
