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Invest Independently confirmed2 publishers 2 min read Published Updated

Visa's Abu Dhabi blockchain pact with ADI Foundation stays at the memorandum stage

Visa signed a cooperation memorandum with Abu Dhabi's ADI Foundation to study blockchain payments, without naming a chain, stablecoin, product or launch date. Until a settlement asset and a date appear, the pact gives Visa a regional position for the stablecoin settlement work it has been testing with Lloyds and in South Korea.

The Investor · Invest desk

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What happened

  • ADI Foundation says its infrastructure is designed for institutional adoption, with ADI Chain focused on stablecoins and real-world assets in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • The two will study how blockchain systems can work with existing electronic payment networks without banks having to replace the infrastructure they already use.
  • Earlier this month Lloyds settled $750,000 of payment obligations with Visa in USDC during a seven-day live pilot, with settlement completed in under an hour, weekends included.
  • An August deal with South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group covered tests of stablecoin issuance, transfers and redemption, plus digital assets for card payment settlement.

Why it matters

  • What it limits constraint With banks keeping their current systems, ADI Chain's role is limited to plugging in behind Visa's network, and Visa keeps the bank and cardholder relationships.
  • What it sets up precedent The Lloyds pilot sets the bar a MENA follow-up has to clear: a named coin bought on a regulated exchange, a bank counterparty, and money arriving at Visa.
  • Who has to decide decision Banks in the region weighing stablecoin settlement get a Visa-linked chain to evaluate but no launch date to plan a pilot budget around, so money they commit now pays for study.

Spread across its seven days, the Lloyds pilot averaged about $107,000 a day [15]. That is a test-sized sum. According to crypto.news, the pilot covered settlement between institutions at hours when conventional banking was shut, and it did not let customers pay in stablecoins [12].

The ADI agreement sits a stage before any of that. It is an exploratory deal that follows a Memorandum of Cooperation [2]. Its brief covers digital payment solutions, payment infrastructure and ways to support digital asset transaction flows [9]. Svyatoslav Senyuta, ADI Foundation's chief business officer, said the work with Visa would examine "how blockchain-based infrastructure and electronic payment networks may complement one another" [7]. Vira Platonova, Visa's global head of money movement, said: "The way money moves is evolving rapidly." [6]

This year Visa has spent its effort on one partner per market, or rather one or two. Shinhan Financial Group signed in South Korea in August and Dunamu followed days later [13][14]. The Lloyds pilot was reported earlier this month [10], and ADI now covers Abu Dhabi [1]. Going by what has been disclosed, Visa has not committed any of its own settlement flows to ADI Chain [2][3].

From here the pact could become a Lloyds-style pilot, with a named dollar stablecoin settling obligations between Visa and a bank in the region. It could follow the Shinhan route instead [13]. That route fits ADI's pitch best, since its chain is built around stablecoins in the region [4]. Or the memorandum stays a memorandum.

In my view the evidence supports positioning for now: Visa has a partner and a study brief in a new region [1][9]. The counter-case rests on ADI's design. ADI has built its offer around policy compliance, interoperability and day-to-day operations [8]. If those claims hold up in testing, a pilot the size of the Lloyds one is a short step from this memorandum. The positioning reading fails once a bank in the region settles a Visa obligation in a named stablecoin on a stated date [3].

What to watch

  • Which settlement asset the next Visa-ADI announcement names: an existing dollar coin such as the USDC used with Lloyds, or a stablecoin issued on ADI Chain.
  • Whether Visa runs USDC settlement with Lloyds beyond the seven-day, $750,000 pilot.
  • Whether the Shinhan work produces a Korea-focused stablecoin used in card payment settlement, the template a MENA version would most likely copy.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption10
Hype gap+15
Incentives60
Confidence72
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    Visa has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation to explore how blockchain infrastructure could work alongside its global payment network.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  2. [2]

    The agreement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation and remains exploratory, with no specific product or commercial rollout announced.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  3. [3]

    No blockchain, stablecoin, settlement asset, product, launch date or timeline was named for the collaboration.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  4. [4]

    ADI Foundation said its infrastructure is designed for institutional blockchain adoption, with ADI Chain focused on stablecoins and real world assets in the MENA region.

    Reported Supported Source: ADI Foundation, via crypto.newsView cited source
  5. [5]

    Both sides will study how existing electronic payment networks can work with blockchain systems without requiring financial institutions to replace the infrastructure they already use.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  6. [6]

    "The way money moves is evolving rapidly."

    Reported Supported Source: Vira Platonova, Visa senior vice president and global head of money movementView cited source
  7. [7]

    ADI Foundation's work with Visa would examine "how blockchain-based infrastructure and electronic payment networks may complement one another."

    Reported Supported Source: Svyatoslav Senyuta, ADI Foundation Chief Business OfficerView cited source
  8. [8]

    ADI has positioned its technology around institutional requirements such as policy compliance, interoperability and day-to-day operations.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  9. [9]

    Visa and ADI Foundation will explore digital payment solutions, payment infrastructure and ways to support digital asset transaction flows.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  10. [10]

    Earlier this month, crypto.news reported that Lloyds used USDC to settle $750,000 in payment obligations with Visa during a seven-day live pilot, with settlement completed in under an hour, including during the weekend.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  11. [11]

    Lloyds Corporate Markets Jersey bought USDC through UK-regulated digital asset exchange Archax and sent the funds to Visa.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  12. [12]

    The Lloyds test focused on settlement between financial institutions, not on letting customers make payments in stablecoins, and examined whether blockchain-based dollars could support round-the-clock settlement when conventional banking infrastructure was unavailable outside normal hours.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  13. [13]

    An August agreement between Visa and South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group covered stablecoin payment infrastructure, including tests involving issuance, transfers and redemption, and planned study of a Korea-focused stablecoin model and digital assets for card payment settlement.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  14. [14]

    Days after the Shinhan agreement, Dunamu and Visa also reached an agreement.

    Reported SupportedView cited source
  15. [15]

    The Lloyds USDC pilot averaged about $107,000 of settlement a day over its seven days.

    Derived Supported

Sources

2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. crypto.news

    1 article · October 5, 2026

    Visa and ADI Foundation team up on blockchain powered digital payments
  2. thepaypers.com

    1 article · October 8, 2026

    Visa and ADI Foundation partner to explore blockchain-based payments

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