Visa and Bridge Bring Stablecoin Cards to 100+ Countries, Revolutionizing Payments!

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Visa and Bridge Expand Stablecoin Cards to over 100 Countries

Key Highlights

  • Visa and Bridge are expanding their stablecoin-linked card program to over 100 countries, currently active in 18.
  • Users can spend stablecoins directly using wallets like MetaMask and Phantom, with payments accepted at 175 million Visa locations.
  • The program now tests onchain settlement, letting transactions complete in stablecoins without converting to regular money.

Bridge, the stablecoin company backed by Visa and Stripe, is expanding its card program internationally. They aim to be available in more than 100 countries before the year is out.

Starting Tuesday, people can use stablecoins with popular digital wallets like MetaMask and Phantom to make purchases wherever Visa is accepted – that’s over 175 million stores worldwide. The service is expected to expand to Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East before the end of the year.

Giving users way to spend crypto like cash 

This program began in 2025, enabling people in Latin America to use stablecoins with debit cards. Currently, the card works in 18 countries, such as Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile.

Stablecoin cards allow people to spend their digital currency just like traditional money. Instead of using cash or credit cards, you can pay directly from your stablecoin holdings. The system is also being tested to allow payments to settle directly in stablecoins, eliminating the need to convert them to regular currency first.

Lead Bank is playing a key role in launching this new system, streamlining the process to make it quicker and more open.

Working with Bridge allows us to integrate stablecoins—fast, transparent, and easily programmable digital currencies—more directly into how payments are settled. According to Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, this gives our partners more options for transferring value and strengthens Visa’s position as a reliable network connecting stablecoins to the worldwide payments system.

Bigger partnership amid the expansion 

Last year, Visa began a trial program to explore using stablecoins for payment settlements with banks and payment processors. Lead Bank participated in this trial and is now implementing technology from Bridge to facilitate these transactions.

Stripe recently acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion and is expanding its cryptocurrency offerings. This includes developing tools for creating stablecoins and collaborating with Paradigm on the Tempo blockchain. Bridge has also received preliminary approval to operate as a national bank, allowing it to securely store cryptocurrency, issue stablecoins, and manage financial reserves.

Broader context

This growth shows how stablecoins are becoming more common for payments. They offer a quicker and less expensive way to send money, pay employees, and make purchases compared to traditional banks.

PayPal and Mastercard, among others, are also experimenting with cards that use stablecoins. This partnership shows increasing interest in blending traditional financial systems with digital currencies, offering businesses and customers innovative payment methods and the ability to finalize transactions directly on the blockchain.

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2026-03-04 00:13