Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Program to Five New Blockchains

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.

Stablecoins can move quickly onchain, but users still need regulated accounts, card issuance and merchant networks for everyday purchases and cross-border payments. Visa is therefore partnering with WeFi, co-founded by Tether co-founder Reeve Collins, to connect DeFi with traditional payments infrastructure and target underbanked populations worldwide.

Visa and WeFi announced the partnership on April 28, 2026. They plan to offer onchain accounts with IBANs and stablecoin payment services, initially rolling them out region by region in selected markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America. The companies did not disclose the value of the partnership or an exact launch date. Further expansion will depend on local regulatory approvals, licensing and card-issuing partners.

Visa is continuing to integrate blockchain into its payments network and digital-asset strategy, focusing on stablecoin settlement, asset custody and exchange services. Its expanded partnership with Taiwan’s OwlTing Group could help issuers meet customer demand for managing on-chain assets. The move also reflects how traditional payments companies are accelerating efforts to connect fiat currencies with blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Visa recently announced that it was deepening its partnership with OwlTing Group and supporting Tempo, an emerging blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm, for on-chain payment use cases including agentic commerce. As of July 20, 2026, the companies had not disclosed the value of the partnership or a formal launch date. The current focus is on strengthening digital-asset custody, exchange and value-added services for issuers.

Tempo is a Layer 1 blockchain launched by Stripe and Paradigm in September 2025 for real-time stablecoin payments and AI agent commerce. It raised $500 million in a Series A round the following October at a $5 billion valuation. Visa's move from using onchain settlement to operating an underlying network node itself marks more direct involvement by a traditional card network in payment infrastructure.

Visa announced on April 14, 2026, that its Tempo validator node was live after six months of collaboration with Tempo's engineering team. Independently configured and managed on Visa's own infrastructure, the node orders and confirms transactions and helps secure the network. Visa, Stripe and Standard Chartered Group's Zodia Custody are among the first external validators. No investment amount was disclosed for the partnership.

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.