The euro enters this week’s ECB meeting (September 9–10) with genuine hawkish backing, having already been told by insiders that policymakers are prepared to raise rates again to counter the inflationary side-effects of the Middle East conflict, even as they signal little appetite for tightening beyond that. July’s hold at 2.25% came with Lagarde explicitly warning that renewed hostilities and the resulting oil price rebound pose upside risks to the inflation outlook, keeping the door firmly open to a move back to 2.50% this week.

The Aussie, meanwhile, is riding one of its strongest stretches in months, hitting a fresh three-month high after Q2 GDP beat expectations at 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, reinforcing bets that the RBA could resume tightening this month. Markets now price a 50–58% chance of a September hike, with a November move seen as effectively locked in, while commodity strength and Australia’s growing role in the AI infrastructure boom add further structural support to the currency.

The result: two hawkish central banks converging on rate decisions within days of each other, leaving EUR/AUD’s next move to hinge on whether Frankfurt or Canberra delivers the more convincing signal.

Technical Analysis of EUR/AUD

As the EUR/AUD chart shows, the pair has been trading within a steep descending trendline since mid-August’s highs near 1.6441, with price now testing the confluence of this trendline and the 0 Fibonacci level near 1.6086. Adding intrigue to the setup, the RSI is forming a bullish divergence, printing higher lows even as price carved a fresh low this week.

Bullish Scenario

Should buyers break above the descending trendline, the divergence would gain real technical credibility, opening the path towards the 0.382 retracement near 1.6222, with a stronger move potentially targeting the 0.5 level around 1.6264.

Bearish Scenario

Conversely, a continued rejection at the trendline would keep sellers in control, invalidating the divergence and exposing fresh lows below the 1.6086 level, with the broader downtrend from August’s highs remaining firmly intact.

With price testing a fresh low right at the trendline while the RSI quietly hints at fading downside momentum, EUR/AUD looks poised for a decisive reaction. Will the ECB’s hawkish stance finally show up on the chart, or will the RBA’s own tightening momentum keep this downtrend alive?

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Visa said on Sept. 8 that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating globally during its fiscal second quarter of 2026, while their payment volume increased nearly 200% year over year.

The payments company also reported that its stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate. That represents growth of more than 15 times from the corresponding period one year earlier.

Visa disclosed the figures while announcing expanded work with Credit Coop. The companies are using stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facilities to help card programs finance daily settlement obligations.

The statistics come from Visa and Credit Coop rather than independently audited transaction reports. An annualized run rate also projects recent activity over a full year. It does not mean Visa has already processed $20 billion in stablecoin settlement during 2026.

Visa stablecoin cards reach 160 live programs

Stablecoin-linked cards connect a customer’s crypto wallet or stablecoin account with Visa’s existing merchant network. The digital assets are converted or used to fund the transaction while the merchant receives payment through familiar card infrastructure.

Visa said payment volume across these programs grew nearly 200% year over year. The company did not publish the underlying dollar value, regional breakdown or transaction count in its announcement.

The latest disclosure updates figures Visa presented in June. At the time, it said more than 160 programs were either live or in development and that stablecoin settlement had reached a $7 billion annualized rate as of March.

The latest $20 billion figure suggests the settlement run rate has nearly tripled since March. However, the two figures cover Visa’s stablecoin settlement activity, not necessarily consumer purchases made through stablecoin-linked cards alone.

Card payment volume and settlement volume measure different processes. Payment volume covers purchases initiated by cardholders. Settlement volume covers money transferred between Visa and participating financial institutions or program operators. Visa previously placed its stablecoin settlement run rate near $7 billion while expanding pilots across more regions, blockchains and currencies.

Credit Coop finances the daily settlement gap

Visa’s announcement focused on a working-capital problem facing new stablecoin card programs. Operators must fund settlement obligations before receiving all corresponding payments from cardholders.

Large, established card portfolios can use warehouse credit lines or securitizations. Smaller programs may need only several million dollars, drawn and repaid daily. Legal and administrative costs can make conventional facilities uneconomical at that scale.

Credit Coop’s structure uses a stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facility secured by settlement receivables. Borrowers draw from the facility to meet their daily Visa obligations and repay the credit line as cardholder proceeds arrive.

Incoming receivables pass through Credit Coop’s Spigot smart contract. The contract automatically directs part of the proceeds toward principal and interest before transferring the remaining funds to the borrower’s operating account.

The process resembles a controlled bank lockbox. The difference is that the routing and repayment instructions execute through smart contracts, creating publicly visible transaction records.

Visa said Credit Coop receives authorized programs’ daily settlement files through a secure data connection. Credit decisions, facility sizes and repayment checks can therefore use both Visa records and onchain transaction history.

According to Visa, stronger access to settlement data helped reduce borrowing costs for some participating programs by as much as 30%. The company did not disclose individual interest rates or identify every program that received lower pricing.

Rain provides the first operating case

Rain, a Visa principal member offering stablecoin card infrastructure, has used a Credit Coop revolving facility since August 2023. The facility finances Rain’s daily Visa settlement requirements.

Credit Coop transfers funds to Rain based on the relevant Visa settlement file. Rain then funds its settlement obligation. Cardholder payments subsequently pass through smart contracts that service interest and replenish the facility.

Visa said every settlement obligation covered by the facility had been funded on time. Credit Coop reported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financing since 2023, covering over 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events.

Credit Coop also reported zero defaults across the platform. Those performance figures are company claims and have not been supported by a published independent audit.

Rain accounted for approximately $2 billion of the reported cumulative settlement financing. Visa said the arrangement had processed more than 2,000 borrowing events and 7,000 repayment events for Rain, generating at least $1.58 million in interest.

Rain previously confirmed that it joined Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. The company said it settles Visa card obligations in USDC seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.

Visa has also described Rain’s use of USDC-backed receivables financing in its broader work on onchain credit. The structure is intended to reduce the need for issuers to hold idle settlement capital.

U.S. card programs test the financing route

Karta, a U.S.-issued premium Visa card operating under Rain’s bank identification number, also launched using Credit Coop financing while developing its performance record.

Visa said Karta later announced $140 million in financing in June 2026. The package included a $15 million Series A led by Galaxy Ventures and a $125 million institutional credit facility from Community Investment Management.

Visa presented Karta as an example of an early card program moving from a smaller revolving facility to institutional financing. The company said Karta’s daily settlement history contributed to the record available to larger lenders.

Moto and Xplace also use Credit Coop financing under Rain’s issuing infrastructure, according to the announcement. Visa did not disclose their facility sizes, borrowing costs or settlement volumes.

The partnership adds a credit layer to Visa’s wider stablecoin strategy. In March, Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge announced that their card programs were live in 18 countries and planned to reach more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

Bridge-enabled cards can be used through platforms including Phantom and MetaMask. Visa said customers could spend their balances across more than 175 million merchant locations, while merchants continue receiving conventional payments.

Visa linked cards and stablecoins with its wider programmable commerce strategy, including settlement pilots and payment tools for AI agents.

Visa plans just-in-time settlement funding

Visa and Credit Coop are now working toward just-in-time funding. Under the planned model, a program’s daily settlement file would trigger a stablecoin disbursement matching the exact net amount owed.

The funds would move directly to the relevant Visa settlement address. Programs would avoid drawing a full facility in advance and holding unused capital between settlement cycles.

Visa said this model could shorten borrowing periods from days to hours. Lenders could also align their exposure more closely with actual daily obligations instead of committing the entire credit line continuously.

The model remains dependent on accurate settlement data, reliable smart contracts and sufficient stablecoin liquidity. Operational failures could prevent a program from meeting a settlement deadline even when the credit facility remains adequately funded.

Credit Coop’s zero-default record does not guarantee future performance. Stablecoin depegging, contract vulnerabilities, borrower failures and changing regulations remain potential risks.

Visa has not announced a deadline for launching just-in-time funding across all 160 programs. It also has not disclosed which stablecoins or blockchains future facilities will support.

The next stage will involve extending the model to additional issuers and determining whether their onchain repayment records can support larger institutional facilities. Visa said it expects more programs to follow Karta’s path, but that remains a company forecast.