Visa has partnered with stablecoin infrastructure startup Bridge to roll out stablecoin-linked Visa cards in several Latin American countries.
The initiative aims to enable users to make everyday purchases using cryptocurrency, marking a significant step toward mainstream adoption of digital assets.
The new card programs will initially launch in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, with plans to expand to Europe, Africa, and Asia in the coming months. Customers will be able to use the stablecoin-linked cards at any merchant that accepts Visa.
Bridge, acquired by payments giant Stripe earlier this year, will handle the back-end processing. The system will deduct funds from a user’s stablecoin balance and convert them into local currency at the point of sale, allowing seamless transactions for merchants who do not directly accept crypto payments.
This move coincides with growing momentum in the U.S. Congress to pass the first federal legislation regulating stablecoins. Industry experts say the pending bill could open the door for more financial institutions to issue or adopt stablecoins for everyday financial transactions.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to the U.S. dollar, and are widely used for transferring funds between digital assets. While proponents tout their potential for instant, global payments, widespread retail use has remained limited due to merchant acceptance and infrastructure challenges.
Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said the timing is right to scale up stablecoin capabilities. “We feel like the moment is now to take some of the things we’ve already been doing in a more experimental, pilot basis and start to expose them to the world,” he said.
Bridge CEO Zach Abrams emphasized the importance of compatibility with existing financial tools. “This enables folks to use and take advantage of the benefits of stablecoins wherever they are in the world, but remain wholly connected with the financial tools that folks use,” he said.
The partnership also allows developers building on Bridge to integrate stablecoin-linked Visa cards into their own financial products, further expanding the potential reach of the service.
