NEW YORK, March 5, 2026, 14:09 (EST)
- Visa and Bridge, which is owned by Stripe, are aiming to roll out stablecoin-linked Visa cards across over 100 countries before the end of the year.
- Some card transactions, the companies said, will settle “onchain” thanks to Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank.
- Card networks are experimenting with stablecoins for back-end settlement; Mastercard, for its part, has launched a stablecoin settlement feature as well.
Visa Inc NYSE:V plans to extend its collaboration with Stripe’s Bridge, the stablecoin platform, aiming to roll out stablecoin-linked Visa cards across more than 100 countries, according to a joint statement from the companies Tuesday. With this move, card program operators can now choose to settle transactions on blockchain rails, working through Lead Bank, Bridge’s partner.
The deal comes as stablecoins — crypto tokens usually linked to the U.S. dollar — are starting to show up in payments infrastructure, not just trading. Back in January, Visa’s crypto chief Cuy Sheffield told Reuters the company saw $4.5 billion in annualised stablecoin settlement. That’s tiny compared to the $14.2 trillion Visa handled in payments volume last year, but the stablecoin figure keeps climbing each month.
Card networks want more than just card swipe fees these days. Stablecoin settlement offers a different play—speeding up transfers between the banks behind the cards and the banks merchants use. “Time will tell” if those new deals lead to broader adoption of stablecoins, said Zil Bareisis, senior analyst at Celent, a unit of GlobalData. American Banker
Bridge-enabled cards have rolled out in 18 countries so far, with plans in place to reach over 100 markets spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East before year-end, according to a Business Wire release. Visa says the programs allow cardholders to spend directly from a stablecoin balance at any of its 175 million-plus merchant locations; crypto wallets like Phantom and MetaMask already support the cards.
To shoppers and businesses, nothing much changes on the surface. At checkout, the card turns the stablecoin balance into regular money, so merchants receive standard currency just as before.
Visa is drawing banks’ and fintechs’ attention to what’s happening under the hood. The company said its stablecoin settlement pilot gives issuers—the banks behind customers’ cards—and acquirers—the payment processors for merchants—a way to settle directly with Visa using stablecoins on supported blockchains.
Sheffield called it a response to shifting client behavior. Demand is “increasingly” going “onchain,” he said. Paymentexpert
Visa said it’s weighing the idea of adding support for Bridge-issued assets in future payment flows—a possible additional settlement route for its partners. Bridge CEO Zach Abrams pitched the move as a chance for businesses to “own their own financial stack” with tailored stablecoins. The Paypers
Mastercard is moving ahead on its own front as well. The company said this week it’s teaming up with SoFi Technologies to let SoFiUSD—a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin—serve as a settlement option on its network. Early rollout will involve pilots with issuers and acquirers. SoFi CEO Anthony Noto described the token as “faster, cheaper, and safer” for money transfers. Mastercard
Bridge has been moving toward tighter integration with the regulated banking sector. In February, the Stripe unit announced it had secured conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to launch a national trust bank. With final approval, that would open the door for services like custody and reserve management.
Visa stock slipped 0.5% to $318.78 early this afternoon in New York, per the company’s own stock quote page. Shares have traded between $299.00 and $375.51 over the last 52 weeks.
But stablecoin projects are finding themselves under tightening oversight, with regulators aiming to stamp out crypto-related crime and push for tougher standards on reserves and compliance. Last week, Tether—the top stablecoin issuer—said it had frozen roughly $4.2 billion worth of its tokens tied to illicit activity. The move highlights how even so-called “digital dollars” can quickly turn into a law enforcement battleground. Reuters
