Visa and Stripe’s Bridge plan stablecoin card expansion to over 100 countries

Visa, in partnership with Stripe-owned Bridge, is significantly expanding its stablecoin-linked Visa card program globally. The initiative, which allows for everyday purchases using stablecoins, is set to roll out in 18 countries initially, with plans to extend to over 100 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by the end of the year.

Global Expansion and Onchain Settlement

This expansion builds upon the program's initial launch in April 2025, which first covered markets in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. A key development in this expanded collaboration is the testing of onchain settlement for these transactions. This pilot program, enabled by independent commercial bank Lead Bank, allows issuers and acquirers to settle transactions directly using stablecoins, a departure from the previous method of converting stablecoins to fiat currency before settlement.

Visa's head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, stated that the expansion with Bridge offers a way to integrate the speed, transparency, and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement process, aligning with Visa's commitment to meeting businesses where they operate, increasingly onchain.

Bridge-Issued Stablecoins and Industry Context

Visa is also exploring support for Bridge-issued assets, which are stablecoins programmatically created by businesses using Bridge's infrastructure, rather than by a third-party issuer like Tether or Circle. Bridge co-founder and CEO Zach Abrams highlighted that this collaboration will enable businesses launching their own custom stablecoins to use them seamlessly within their card programs.

This move by Visa and Bridge occurs amidst a broader trend in the payments industry, with competitors like Mastercard also enabling stablecoin card spending through partnerships, such as their collaboration with the MetaMask wallet in the US.