Visa, Mastercard Join Circle’s Arc Validator Group

Stablecoins are moving beyond crypto trading into cross-border payments, treasury management and round-the-clock settlement, pushing card networks to define their role in onchain finance. Visa is positioning itself as an interoperability layer rather than a stablecoin issuer, linking fiat money, blockchains, wallets and its global merchant network. The strategy matters because preserving Visa’s network effects and service revenue will depend on remaining essential as payment infrastructure becomes programmable.

On July 28, 2026, Chief Executive Ryan McInerney told Visa’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call that the company had invested across blockchain, wallet and infrastructure layers, saying its role was “not to pick winners.” Visa joined Open Standard and on July 16 launched a platform initially supporting Open USD. It plans to connect Pismo for tokenized deposits and AI-driven commerce. Visa’s settlement pilot spans nine blockchains and was running at an annualized $7 billion, up 50% quarter on quarter.

Stablecoins are moving beyond crypto trading into payments, cross-border transfers and corporate treasury operations, prompting established networks to connect blockchain rails with conventional finance. Visa’s strategy is to shield banks and fintechs from the technical and compliance burden of running wallets and onchain workflows themselves. The stakes are considerable: Visa settles about $15 trillion annually and connects roughly 15,000 financial institutions with more than 200 million merchants, giving it a distribution network that could accelerate institutional use of digital dollars.

Visa on July 16, 2026, unveiled the Visa Stablecoin Platform, or VSP, a managed environment for minting, redeeming, holding and transferring stablecoins. The initial rollout centers on Open Standard’s newly introduced Open USD (OUSD) and interoperates with Visa’s existing stablecoin services, including Circle’s USDC and Paxos’ USDG. VSP also offers Wallet-as-a-Service, dual-approval controls, audit logs and transfer allow lists. Beta access is initially limited to selected clients. Visa already processes several billion dollars in stablecoin settlements and aims to fold those flows into existing payment, treasury and settlement systems.

Visa has tested stablecoin settlement using USDC on Ethereum since 2021, allowing issuers and acquirers to settle VisaNet obligations over blockchain networks. The model could overcome the constraints of banking hours and cross-border transfers, providing a supplementary settlement channel for traditional payment networks.

Visa said on April 29, 2026, that it had added Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon and Tempo. Together with Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar, the additions brought the number of supported networks to nine. Its annualized settlement run rate reached $7 billion, up 50% quarter on quarter. On June 4, Visa also began testing privacy-controlled institutional settlement on Canton with Brale using the US dollar stablecoin SBC.

Stablecoins use fiat-currency reserves to maintain their value and can move cross-border payments and settlement onto blockchains. Stripe completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of infrastructure provider Bridge in February 2025. Connecting that business with Visa and Mastercard’s global merchant and settlement networks could challenge a market dominated by Circle and Tether.

CoinDesk, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported on June 3, 2026, that Stripe, Visa and Mastercard were preparing to back a soon-to-debut stablecoin platform, with Coinbase also considering joining. The parties have yet to disclose the platform’s name, issuance size or launch date, and the planned collaboration has not been officially confirmed.

Mastercard has long operated credit-card and cross-border payment networks, while stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar use blockchain technology to provide real-time settlement. Executive Vice President Raj Dhamodharan said the two are not engaged in a zero-sum contest, with stablecoins gradually becoming infrastructure for remittances and financial services.

As of July 19, 2026, Mastercard said it would continue integrating blockchain technology and stablecoins into its existing payment network to support mainstream cross-border remittances and merchant payments. The reports did not disclose additional investment, transaction volume or a single launch date. The latest development is that Mastercard’s strategy has shifted from defense to integration.

Stablecoins maintain their value through fiat-backed assets and can reduce the time and cost of cross-border transfers, but everyday spending requires connections to card issuance, settlement and merchant networks. Stripe completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge in February 2025. Visa's partnership with the infrastructure platform effectively connects onchain funds to the global card-payment system.

Visa announced an expanded partnership with Bridge on March 3, 2026. Stablecoin-linked cards are already operating in 18 countries and are expected to expand to more than 100 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of 2026. Bridge has also joined Visa's onchain settlement pilot through Lead Bank, allowing Phantom and MetaMask users to spend stablecoins directly on everyday purchases.