Visa unveils onchain lending model with Credit Coop, supports $2.5B in settlements with zero defaults

Visa just quietly built one of the most successful lending operations in crypto, and almost nobody noticed. The payments giant’s collaboration with Credit Coop has produced an onchain lending model that has financed over $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023, processing more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events. The kicker: zero defaults across all of it. How the plumbing actually works The model integrates VisaNet’s settlement data with blockchain-based smart contracts to create revolving credit facilities for fintechs and stablecoin-linked card programs. At the center of the system sits Credit Coop’s “Spigot” smart contract. It functions as a programmable lockbox, automatically routing repayments and securing collateral directly from settlement receivables. When a fintech card issuer needs funding to cover Visa settlements, the smart contract handles the mechanics: disbursing funds, tracking collateral, and collecting repayments without human intervention at each step. The result is faster settlement cycles and, according to the project’s data, borrowing costs that have dropped by as much as 30% for participating programs. That reduction comes ...