Visa is expanding its partnership with Stripe owned Bridge to roll out stablecoin linked debit cards in more than 100 countries while testing onchain settlement for transactions.
Key Takeaways
- Visa and Bridge stablecoin cards are now live in 18 countries, with expansion planned to over 100 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
- The program allows users to spend stablecoins at Visa’s 175 million plus merchant locations worldwide.
- Through a partnership with Lead Bank, card transactions can now settle onchain using stablecoins instead of fiat.
- The move signals deeper integration between crypto infrastructure firms and traditional payment networks amid rising stablecoin adoption.
What Happened?
Global payments giant Visa and stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge, a company acquired by Stripe in 2025, announced an expanded collaboration to scale stablecoin backed Visa cards globally. The program, which first launched in Latin America earlier this year, is now active in 18 countries and is set to expand to more than 100 by the end of the year.
The companies are also testing direct stablecoin settlement through Visa’s pilot program, marking a significant step toward bringing blockchain based payments deeper into the traditional financial system.
Just in: @Visa and @Stripe are expanding stablecoin-linked cards from 18 countries to 100+ by year-end, covering Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) March 3, 2026
The cards are already live on @Phantom and @MetaMask. pic.twitter.com/hDMAUlLgI0
Stablecoin Cards Move Beyond Latin America
The partnership initially launched in April 2025, covering markets such as Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Chile. Now, developers using Bridge are rapidly deploying stablecoin linked Visa cards across new regions, including Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
The cards allow customers to use stablecoin balances held in crypto wallets to pay for everyday purchases anywhere Visa is accepted. That includes small local shops and major global retailers across Visa’s network of more than 175 million merchant locations.
Companies such as Phantom and MetaMask are already integrating these cards, enabling millions of users to spend stablecoins as easily as traditional debit funds. Businesses can also create their own branded stablecoin backed debit cards through Bridge’s infrastructure, with Visa serving as the payments network.
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, told Fortune:
Onchain Settlement Pilot Expands
A major development in the latest expansion is the introduction of onchain settlement. Initially, transactions were processed by Bridge, which deducted stablecoins from users and converted them into fiat so merchants received local currency.
Now, through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, settlement can occur directly onchain using stablecoins within Visa’s settlement pilot program.
Earlier this year, Lead Bank joined Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. Bridge provides the underlying stablecoin infrastructure supporting the bank’s participation.
The pilot aims to evaluate several key areas:
- How stablecoin settlement improves flexibility for issuers and program managers
- Operational efficiency gains from onchain reconciliation and faster fund movement
- The role of infrastructure platforms like Bridge in simplifying blockchain integration for institutions
Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto, Visa said:
Stablecoins and the Payments Power Balance
Stablecoins, which are typically pegged to assets such as the United States dollar, have often been described as potential disruptors to legacy payment giants like Visa and Mastercard. Some investors recently reacted to regulatory developments such as the Senate’s passage of the Genius Act, which regulates stablecoins, sending card network stocks lower.
However, the growing collaboration between crypto startups and established payment networks suggests a different trend. Rather than replacing card networks, stablecoin infrastructure is increasingly being integrated into them.
Zach Abrams, Cofounder and CEO of Bridge, told Fortune:
Abrams did note that emerging areas such as agentic commerce, where artificial intelligence agents transact autonomously, could eventually reshape payment rails in new ways.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my view, this expansion clearly shows that stablecoins are not replacing Visa anytime soon. Instead, they are becoming part of Visa’s infrastructure. I found it particularly important that settlement is moving onchain, because that is where the real efficiency gains can happen.
From my experience covering crypto payments, the real breakthrough comes when users do not notice the blockchain at all. If people can spend stablecoins anywhere Visa is accepted without friction, that is when adoption truly scales. This partnership feels less like disruption and more like evolution.
