Visa and Mastercard Integrate Stablecoins into Payment Systems: New Service Enables Faster Cross-Border Transactions

Key summary

Global payment giants Visa and Mastercard are incorporating stablecoins into their financial services to address slow and expensive cross-border money transfers, without requiring merchants to change their payment systems. In March 2026, Visa announced an expansion of its partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company within Stripe, allowing Visa card issuers to link to stablecoin balances. The service is currently available in 18 countries and is planned to expand to over 100 countries by the end of the year. The system works by deducting stablecoins from the user's account and converting the value according to the terms. Merchants receive funds through the regular system. Mastercard acquired BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure developer, in August 2026, and launched the Mastercard Global Money Platform on October 15, 2026, to help banks and Fintech companies connect traditional financial systems with stablecoins through a single platform. Stablecoins such as USDC and USDT are pegged to the value of the US dollar but are not bank deposits and carry risks such as insufficient asset reserves, deviations from the pegged value, or cyberattacks. Users should check the issuer and redemption terms before using the service.