The Investor
03 Mar 2026, 19:46
Visa Inc. and Bridge have expanded their collaboration to accelerate the rollout of stablecoin-linked Visa cards globally, with plans to bring the product to more than 100 countries by year-end.
The partnership builds on their 2025 launch, enabling businesses and fintech developers to issue stablecoin-backed Visa cards through Bridge’s infrastructure. These cards allow consumers to spend stablecoin balances at over 175 million merchant locations worldwide. The program is currently live in 18 countries, with further expansion planned across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Crypto platforms such as Phantom and MetaMask are already leveraging the cards to enable stablecoin spending.
As part of the expanded collaboration, transactions can now be settled onchain with Visa through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. The pilot is designed to assess how stablecoin-based settlement can enhance flexibility for issuers, improve operational efficiency through onchain reconciliation, and accelerate fund movements.
Visa is also evaluating potential future support for Bridge-issued assets within its network, exploring additional settlement pathways that integrate stablecoins more directly into the global payments ecosystem.
Business Wire
The partnership builds on their 2025 launch, enabling businesses and fintech developers to issue stablecoin-backed Visa cards through Bridge’s infrastructure. These cards allow consumers to spend stablecoin balances at over 175 million merchant locations worldwide. The program is currently live in 18 countries, with further expansion planned across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Crypto platforms such as Phantom and MetaMask are already leveraging the cards to enable stablecoin spending.
As part of the expanded collaboration, transactions can now be settled onchain with Visa through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. The pilot is designed to assess how stablecoin-based settlement can enhance flexibility for issuers, improve operational efficiency through onchain reconciliation, and accelerate fund movements.
Visa is also evaluating potential future support for Bridge-issued assets within its network, exploring additional settlement pathways that integrate stablecoins more directly into the global payments ecosystem.
Business Wire