In a significant move to merge traditional finance with digital assets, global payments leader Visa has announced a major expansion of its partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure platform owned by Stripe. The initiative aims to scale stablecoin-backed payment cards to over 100 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by the end of 2026. This builds upon a successful 2025 pilot program that began in Latin America and has since grown to serve 18 countries, allowing users to spend digital assets seamlessly at more than 175 million Visa merchant locations worldwide.
The expanded program enables businesses and fintech developers to issue Visa cards directly linked to stablecoin balances, which function similarly to traditional debit cards. Consumers can make everyday purchases without the need to manually transfer funds to a bank account first. To support this at scale, Visa is leveraging its on-chain stablecoin settlement pilot in collaboration with Lead Bank. This system allows for transactions to be settled directly on blockchain networks, providing a more transparent and faster alternative to conventional banking reconciliation.
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, emphasized that the partnership is designed to bring the “speed, transparency, and programmability” of stablecoins into the global settlement process while maintaining institutional-grade security. By integrating with major crypto wallets like Phantom and MetaMask, the service is already reaching millions of users who can now use their cryptocurrency balances for retail shopping. This shift signals a growing industry confidence in stablecoins as a practical utility for mainstream commerce rather than just a speculative asset.
For Bridge and its parent company Stripe, the expansion aligns with a broader strategy to give businesses more control over their financial infrastructure. Bridge CEO Zach Abrams noted that the collaboration allows companies to launch custom stablecoins that integrate directly into card programs without needing to build payment systems from the ground up. As the rollout continues, Visa is also evaluating whether Bridge-issued digital assets could eventually play an even larger role in cross-border fund movements, potentially reshaping the future of the global payments ecosystem.
