Report: Payments Giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe Back Stablecoin Platform for Faster Payments

Payments Giants Eye Shared Stablecoin Infrastructure

The platform, which has not been officially announced and carries nary confirmed name, would bring unneurotic the 3 payments companies to grow stablecoin colony networks. The report by Ian Allison notes that U.S. crypto speech Coinbase is besides reportedly exploring participation. Allison remarked that each the companies either declined to remark oregon had not responded by work time.

The quality arrives arsenic Mastercard separately expands its planetary colony web to see six caller partners crossed USDC, RLUSD, and PYUSD, a determination that signals the institution is gathering stablecoin scope connected aggregate fronts simultaneously.

Visa and Stripe Already Running Together

The clearest progressive collaboration betwixt these firms is the Visa-Bridge stablecoin paper issuing program. Bridge, acquired by Stripe successful February 2025 for astir $1.1 billion, provides the stablecoin orchestration layer.

Fintechs and wallets usage a azygous Bridge API to contented branded stablecoin-backed Visa cards, letting cardholders walk USDC balances astatine immoderate of Visa’s 175 million-plus merchant locations worldwide.

As of March 2026, the programme is unrecorded successful 18 countries, with a absorption connected Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Visa and Bridge program to grow to much than 100 countries crossed Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by year-end.

In March, Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield, stated:

“Visa is committed to gathering businesses wherever they operate, and increasingly, that’s onchain. This milestone gives our partners greater prime successful however they determination value.”

Bridge CEO Zach Abrams added: “This enlargement of our enactment with Visa volition alteration businesses launching their ain customized stablecoins to usage them seamlessly wrong their paper programs.”

Wallets including Phantom and Metamask, on with fintechs similar Ramp and Airtm, are among the participants utilizing the infrastructure.

Visa’s Stablecoin Volume Reaches $7B Annualized

Visa’s broader stablecoin colony aviator has grown to astir $7 cardinal successful annualized volume and present spans 9 blockchains, including Base, Polygon, Solana, and Ethereum. The institution besides operates the Visa Stablecoin Platform for minting, burning, and transacting stablecoins with enterprise-level performance.

Just recently, Visa took a strategical stake successful Replit portion simultaneously exploring tokenization initiatives alongside the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), respective cardinal banks, JPMorgan, UBS Group, Deutsche Bank, and Mastercard.

Mastercard’s $1.8B BVNK Acquisition

On March 17, 2026, Mastercard announced a definitive statement to get BVNK, a London-based stablecoin infrastructure company, for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 cardinal successful contingent payments. The woody is expected to adjacent by year-end pending regulatory approvals.

BVNK’s level operates crossed 130-plus countries and is intended to link onchain stablecoin payments with Mastercard’s planetary fiat rails, supporting cross-border payments, remittances, B2B transactions, and 24/7 settlement. Mastercard has besides partnered with OKX, Nuvei, and Thunes for stablecoin transactions and payout capabilities.

Stripe Builds connected Bridge for Stablecoin Reach

Beyond the Visa paper program, Stripe is utilizing Bridge to powerfulness its Open Issuance platform, which lets businesses motorboat and negociate their ain stablecoins. Stripe has expanded stablecoin enactment crossed dozens of countries for outgo acceptance, payouts, and wealth absorption accounts.

Market Backdrop

The full stablecoin market cap stands adjacent $320 billion, according to defillama.com stats, with Tether’s USDT astatine astir $187.81 cardinal and USDC astatine astir $76 billion. Transaction volumes crossed the assemblage person climbed arsenic much institutions and consumers dainty stablecoins arsenic a moving payments furniture alternatively than a speculative asset.

A much favorable U.S. regulatory situation and the increasing overlap betwixt stablecoins and artificial quality (AI)-driven commerce are pushing accepted payments firms to determination from pilots to scaled infrastructure.