The new collaboration will see the companies extend the global card issuance product they introduced last year, according to a Tuesday (March 3) press release emailed to PYMNTS.
“Bridge enables businesses and FinTech developers to offer stablecoin-backed Visa cards,” the release said. “Now, through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, these card transactions can be settled on-chain with Visa.”
Since launching stablecoin-linked cards, the companies have brought their partnership to 18 nations, and they plan to expand it to over 100 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific by the year’s end, according to the release.
Cryptocurrency platforms such as Phantom and MetaMask are using the cards to let customers pay for everyday purchases with stablecoins, per the release.
“Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot enables Visa issuers and acquirers, including those issuing Bridge-enabled cards, to settle with Visa using stablecoins over supported blockchain networks,” the release said. “Earlier this year, Lead Bank was announced as a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. Bridge is also enabling the stablecoin infrastructure behind Lead Bank.”
The pilot is designed to study how stablecoin settlement can “enhance settlement optionality for issuers and program managers,” while also evaluating “operational efficiency gains from on-chain reconciliation and faster fund movement,” according to the release.
“Visa is committed to meeting businesses where they operate, and increasingly, that’s on-chain,” Visa Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield said in the release. “Expanding our work with Bridge gives us one more way to bring the speed, transparency and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement process. This milestone gives our partners greater choice in how they move value, and it reinforces Visa’s role as a trusted network connecting digital currencies and the global payments ecosystem.”
Stablecoins are increasingly being positioned as the best-fit method for crypto payments, PYMNTS reported last month.
“Rather than replacing cards, stablecoins are being absorbed into card infrastructure as a new settlement and funding source, allowing merchants to accept digital assets without ever holding them, as card networks and their partners do the heavy lifting in the background,” the report said.