Visa & Stripe Take Stablecoin Cards Global
Visa is massively expanding its partnership with Stripe's Bridge, planning to roll out stablecoin-backed cards in over 100 countries. The move signals a major shift from regional pilots to global scale for real-time, stablecoin-based settlement. This API-first infrastructure allows fintechs to offer near-instant cross-border payments, a huge step for embedded finance.
This expansion builds on Visa's ongoing stablecoin settlement pilot, which allows issuers and acquirers to settle transactions with Visa using USDC over supported blockchains like Solana. The pilot, which includes participants like Lead Bank, is designed to test operational efficiencies from on-chain reconciliation and faster fund movement. As of late 2025, Visa's monthly stablecoin settlement volume had already passed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate. The collaboration leverages Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm Stripe acquired for $1.1 billion. Bridge's API enables developers to programmatically issue stablecoin-linked cards and manage the conversion from stablecoin balances to fiat at the point of sale, allowing spending at Visa's 175 million merchant locations. The initial 2025 launch focused on 18 markets, primarily in Latin America, including Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia. This move taps into the core value proposition of stablecoins for cross-border payments: speed. While traditional wire transfers can take 3-5 business days to settle, blockchain-based payments can clear in under three minutes, 24/7. For B2B transactions, this near-instant settlement dramatically improves working capital and reduces the need for idle cash buffers. The regulatory environment for stablecoins is also maturing, providing greater certainty for institutional adoption. In the U.S., the 2025 GENIUS Act established a federal framework, defining "payment stablecoins" and restricting issuance to regulated institutions under OCC oversight. This legislation clarifies that compliant stablecoins are not considered securities or commodities, removing them from SEC and CFTC jurisdiction. Similar regulatory frameworks are now in place in the EU, UK, Singapore, and Japan.
