Visa to Bring Privacy-Preserving Payments to Canton Network

Visa is the first payments company selected to become a Super Validator on the Canton Network, where it will help banks and financial institutions bring new payment flows onchain

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Visa (NYSE:V), a global leader in digital payments, today announced it will join the Canton Network as the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, to help extend privacy‑preserving blockchain infrastructure to banks and financial institutions around the world. Visa will be one of 40 Super Validators on Canton.

That move goes straight to a core challenge for financial institutions: the same transparency that gives blockchains their appeal can clash with privacy expectations financial institutions operate under. Canton Network, a blockchain built for regulated finance, has privacy built in from the beginning, so organizations can use shared infrastructure without exposing sensitive information.

As a Super Validator, Visa will help clients who choose to run and secure operations on the Canton Network, applying the same trusted and reliable standards it uses to operate critical payment systems today. Institutions can experiment with and scale stablecoin payments, settlement and treasury use cases without changing how they already manage risk, compliance and operations.

“Many banks see the lack of privacy as a dealbreaker for moving meaningful activity onchain,” said Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, Visa. “By operating as a Super Validator on Canton Network, we’re bringing Visa-grade trust, governance and operational rigor that define Visa’s global network to privacy‑preserving blockchain infrastructure, so regulated FIs can bring payments onchain without having to rethink how they operate.”

Today, Canton has gained wide adoption across capital markets, powering the issuance and trading of tokenized financial assets. With Visa joining, Canton will now connect capital markets with payments and bring onchain payments directly into the Canton ecosystem.

About the Canton Network

Many financial institutions have avoided public blockchains because anyone can see transaction details, raising concerns about transparency, data leaks, and compliance.

Canton’s configurable privacy model is designed for real-world use cases – banks can’t run payroll if salaries are public and trading firms can’t reveal every position and trade without hurting price discovery. Canton combines strong privacy with the ability to connect different applications and assets on the same network. Institutions can adopt blockchain without compromising confidentiality or control.

“Canton was built to meet the requirements of regulated finance from day one,” said Eric Saraniecki, Head of Network Strategy for Digital Asset, co-creator of Canton. “Visa’s participation as a Super Validator reinforces that this technology has matured beyond experimentation and into production‑ready infrastructure. Bringing payments onchain, alongside assets, unlocks the next phase of financial markets, where transactions can move with the speed of blockchain while remaining private, secure, and compliant.”

Visa’s Broader Stablecoin Strategy

Visa’s participation builds on its existing digital asset and stablecoin work, including:

• stablecoin settlement, which has reached an annualized run rate of $4.6 billion globally
• stablecoin‑linked cards, with more than 130 programs across more than 50 countries
• a specialized Stablecoins Advisory Practice by Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), advising clients ranging from financial institutions to fintechs on stablecoin strategy and onchain capabilities. VCA can help clients assess how participation in Canton Network and other initiatives align with their objectives.

With Visa now spanning both the payments and governance layer on Canton, financial institutions can explore this network through a partner they already know and trust, without having to overhaul existing operations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is the Canton Network?
Canton is a public, permissionless blockchain network designed to meet the stringent requirements of regulated financial institutions, enabling privacy‑preserving transactions on shared infrastructure with institutional‑grade governance.

Q: Why is a privacy-preserving blockchain necessary?
Many financial institutions have been cautious about public blockchains due to privacy, compliance, and governance concerns. Banks can’t run payroll if salaries are public, and trading firms can’t transact if positions, collateral, or margin movements are visible. As a privacy-enabled but public blockchain network, Canton allows assets like these to move freely without exposing confidential data.

Q: What is a super validator and why is that important?
On blockchains, validators help verify transactions and maintain network integrity. On Canton Network, a Super Validator is a selective role reserved for highly trusted institutions that help steward core network infrastructure and contribute value to the Canton ecosystem through increased network activity.

Q: What is Visa’s role as a Super Validator?
As a Super Validator, with voting powers to shape the future of Canton’s network decisions, Visa will help decide critical payment infrastructure, enabling banks and financial institutions to adopt blockchain at scale.

Q: Why now?
Visa’s participation helps banks use blockchain without exposing sensitive financial data. That will help transform blockchain technology to real‑world, institutional use.

Q: Who benefits?
Banks, large enterprises, and regulated financial institutions exploring blockchain‑based payment, settlement, and treasury use cases that require privacy, security, and compliance.

Q: What’s next?
Visa will work with institutions to bring Canton into production where it complements existing payment, settlement, and treasury strategies, drawing on Visa’s experience operating across applications, infrastructure, and multiple blockchain networks. Visa remains chain‑agnostic across networks aligned with its payments‑first, institutional approach. Organizations interested in understanding and assessing potential areas of relevance with their crypto and stablecoins strategies can reach out to an advisor within the VCA Stablecoins Advisory Practice by emailing [e-mail].

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

About Canton Network

The Canton Network is the only public, permissionless blockchain purpose-built for institutional finance–uniquely combining privacy, compliance, and scalability. Governed by the Canton Foundation with participation from leading global financial institutions, Canton enables real-time, secure synchronization and settlement across multiple asset classes on a shared, interoperable infrastructure. The open-sourced network is powered by its native token, Canton Coin, and supports decentralized governance and collaborative application development. It’s the proven link between the promise of blockchain and the power of global finance, making finance flow the way it should. Learn more at: canton.network.