Visa & Stripe's Bridge Expand Stablecoin Cards to 100+ Nations
Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge are significantly expanding their partnership to launch stablecoin-connected Visa cards in over 100 countries by the end of 2026. Currently operational in 18 countries, primarily in Latin America since its 2025 launch, the program will extend to Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. These cards allow consumers to spend stablecoins (USDC, EURC, PayPal USD, and Paxos’s Global Dollar) at Visa’s 175 million merchant locations, with businesses receiving funds in local fiat. A key development is the move towards on-chain settlement, facilitated by a pilot program with Lead Bank, allowing transactions to settle directly using stablecoins on blockchains like Solana, Ethereum, Stellar, and Avalanche. This eliminates the previous requirement of converting stablecoins to fiat before processing. Bridge received conditional US banking authorization in February 2026, enabling it to manage stablecoin reserves. Visa views this as a step towards integrating blockchain-native currency settlement into the broader payments ecosystem.
Key Points
- 1Visa and Bridge are expanding stablecoin card availability to over 100 countries by the end of 2026.
- 2On-chain settlement is now possible through a pilot program with Lead Bank, improving efficiency.
- 3The program supports multiple stablecoins and blockchain networks, offering flexibility.
Market Impact
This expansion signals growing mainstream acceptance of stablecoins in everyday transactions and could drive further innovation in the payments industry. It also positions Visa as a key player in bridging traditional finance and the digital asset space.