Visa launches stablecoin-enabled card issuance product in partnership with Bridge, a subsidiary of Stripe | CoinDesk JAPAN

Stablecoins will be usable for everyday payments with Visa cards.

Visa announced on April 30 that it will partner with Bridge, a stablecoin payment platform under the U.S. payment company Stripe, to launch a stablecoin-enabled card issuance product. Developers will be able to use Bridge to offer stablecoin-enabled Visa cards to end users in multiple countries.

Cardholders can make payments from their stablecoin balance at any store that accepts Visa. The release states, “When customers in Colombia shop at local stores and pay with a Bridge-compatible Visa card, Bridge deducts the necessary funds from the customer’s stablecoin balance and converts it to the local currency. The merchants can then receive payments in the local currency just like any other transaction.”

It is not explicitly stated, but it seems that it is intended to be used as a debit card rather than the so-called credit.

Users can add the card to the corresponding digital wallet and make payments at over 150 million merchants worldwide.

“The partnership with Bridge is an important step in making stablecoins available for everyday use and providing consumers with more options for managing and using their money,” said Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer.

This initiative will first start in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. This is because the demand for using stablecoins for value preservation and daily payments is expanding in the Latin American market. There are plans to expand to Europe, Africa, and Asia within the next few months.

“This is a significant leap for developers. We have been able to build a highly scalable issuance product. The method of paying with a card is known to everyone. In the future, it will be possible to use stablecoins with just a single tap of the card,” said Zach Abrams, CEO and co-founder of Bridge.