KEY FACTS: Visa and Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure platform owned by Stripe, announced on March 3, 2026, an expansion of their collaboration to scale stablecoin-linked Visa cards globally. Initially launched in April 2025 in select Latin American countries including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, the program is now live in 18 countries and aims to reach over 100 countries by the end of 2026, extending into Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. These cards allow users to spend directly from stablecoin balances in compatible wallets like MetaMask or Phantom, with merchants receiving fiat payments and Bridge handling conversions; crucially, through a partnership with Lead Bank (a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot), transactions can now settle directly on-chain in stablecoins rather than traditional fiat rails. This development, following Bridge's mid-February 2026 conditional approval to operate as a U.S. national trust bank, underscores accelerating mainstream adoption of stablecoins in payments amid competition from players like Mastercard.

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Source: Bridge, Visa

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Visa and Stripe's Bridge Expand Stablecoin-Linked Cards to Over 100 Countries with Onchain Settlement Testing

Global payments leader Visa has announced an expanded collaboration with Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure platform owned by fintech giant Stripe. The partnership aims to scale the availability of stablecoin-linked Visa cards, with an ambitious target of reaching more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

The announcement, made on March 3, 2026, builds on the initial rollout of the program in 2025. At launch, the stablecoin-backed cards were introduced in select Latin American markets, including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. These cards allowed users to spend directly from their stablecoin balances, held in compatible crypto wallets such as MetaMask or Phantom, while merchants received payments in local fiat currency, with Bridge handling the conversion behind the scenes.

Now, the program has gone live in 18 countries, and Visa and Bridge plan aggressive global expansion across regions covering Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. This move positions the initiative as one of the broadest efforts yet to bridge cryptocurrency holdings with everyday spending at Visa's vast network of over 175 million merchant locations worldwide.

A key innovation in the expanded partnership is the testing of on-chain settlement for card transactions. Previously, settlements relied on traditional fiat rails after converting stablecoins. Under the new setup, enabled through Bridge's partnership with Lead Bank, an independent U.S. commercial bank, transactions can now settle directly in stablecoins on supported blockchain networks.

Visa has incorporated this capability into its ongoing stablecoin settlement pilot, which allows issuers and acquirers (including those offering Bridge-enabled cards) to settle obligations to Visa using stablecoins rather than conventional currency transfers. Lead Bank, already a participant in the pilot, benefits from Bridge's infrastructure to facilitate these on-chain processes.

Cuy Sheffield, Visa's head of crypto, emphasized that Visa is committed to meeting businesses on-chain. According to him, the work expansion with Bridge Visa an additional way to bring the speed, transparency and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement process.

This shift highlights growing momentum in the payments industry toward stablecoins as a faster, more transparent alternative for backend settlement. It comes amid rising competition, with rivals like Mastercard recently enabling stablecoin spending in the U.S. through integrations with self-custodial wallets such as MetaMask.

Bridge's platform stands out for allowing businesses and fintech developers to issue custom stablecoins programmatically, unlike widely used third-party stablecoins such as Tether's USDT or Circle's USDC. These Bridge-issued assets are tailored for specific use cases and can be backed by the same infrastructure powering the Visa card program.

Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge, highlighted that the expansion of work with Visa will enable businesses launching their own custom stablecoins to use them seamlessly within their card programs. The partnership underscores Stripe's deepening push into crypto infrastructure since its acquisition of Bridge in early 2025 (reportedly valued at around $1.1 billion). The combination of Stripe's global reach, Bridge's stablecoin orchestration tools, and Visa's merchant and settlement network aims to make stablecoin usage more invisible and practical for everyday commerce, while maintaining regulatory compliance through partners like Lead Bank.

Bridge itself achieved a regulatory milestone in mid-February 2026, receiving conditional approval from a U.S. regulator to operate as a national trust bank, further strengthening its position in traditional finance-crypto intersections.

The development reflects broader industry trends, where legacy players like Visa are actively experimenting with blockchain to enhance efficiency in settlement processes, potentially paving the way for wider on-chain integration in the years ahead.

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Article edited with HivePro and published via INLEO

Image prompt created with HivePro

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Information Sources:

• Visa Blog
• Coinmarketcap
• Cointelegraph

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