Lloyds Banking Group completed a live pilot transferring $750,000 in real settlement obligations to Visa over seven days using USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin (crypto token designed to track the dollar). The funds reached Visa within an hour, including on weekends, highlighting how stablecoins (digital tokens designed to track fiat currencies) could support settlement between financial institutions. Lloyds bought USDC through U.K. digital-asset firm Archax and sent the funds to Visa in the United States through Lloyds Corporate Markets' Jersey branch. The transactions were conducted in several tranches tied to actual payment obligations rather than simulated activity. The pilot did not involve consumer payments or require customers to hold stablecoins or create separate wallets. Lloyds said faster cross-border settlement could reduce the time corporate funds remain tied up, improve liquidity management and make settlement timing more predictable. Peter Left, Lloyds' head of digital assets, said the pilot allowed the bank to test stablecoin settlement in a live environment. Lloyds did not disclose whether the process reduced fees or lowered required settlement funding.