Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to fiat currencies, have surged in interest across both the decentralised (DeFi) and traditional finance sectors
The likes of Visa, Mastercard and Stripe have begun adopting stablecoins as part of their payment stacks to realise the benefits of sending money instantaneously on blockchain networks while still maintaining the stability of fiat currencies.
US dollar stablecoins, predominantly, have flourished as traditional players have primarily used stablecoins for cross-border transactions to benefit from instant settlements, as well as 24/7 availability, cheaper remittance fees and the reduction of intermediaries.
Stablecoins are also enabling the underbanked to gain access to international payment capabilities otherwise not available to them. African and Latin American countries have begun to buy and hold stablecoins, such as Tether‘s USDT and Circle‘s USDC, to make cross-border payments.
Many in these countries have also adopted stablecoins as a hedge against inflation — for countries like Argentina, stablecoins have become a method to preserve the value of their money as the Argentine Peso has grown increasingly volatile.
The stablecoin surge has been widely discussed at industry events over the past two years as traditional players have begun to assess whether stablecoins represent a genuine solution to payment problems or another passing trend.
There have, however, been a range of use cases from the DeFi and TradFi sectors that demonstrate the benefits of sending money via stablecoins.
Visa
One of the largest payment companies in the world, Visa has embedded stablecoins into its systems as a valuable part of its overall business.
Visa primarily uses USDC to convert stablecoins to fiat currencies, and vice versa, through on/off ramping. The company enables its partners across the world to issue debit and prepaid cards to be swiped at the point of sale, allowing consumers or businesses to pay with their preferred stablecoin.
Visa has partnered with cryptocurrency exchanges such as Crypto.com and stablecoin infrastructure providers like Stripe-owned Bridge to issue these cards.
Through partnerships with Nuvei and Worldpay, Visa has routed merchants to stablecoin payouts using USDC on the Solana blockchain network, enabling companies to be paid in seconds rather than hours or days.
Visa Direct, the global money movement subsidiary of Visa, launched a pilot to discover use cases in paying gig economy workers with stablecoins.
In partnership with stablecoin payment provider BVNK, Visa Direct is funding customer payouts in selected stablecoins, as well as offering a stablecoin payout option that allows users to convert their preferred fiat currency into stablecoins.
Mastercard
Mastercard’s most significant stablecoin commitment to date has been its acquisition of BVNK in March 2026 for $1.8bn.
Beyond M&A, Mastercard has been building its stablecoin payment infrastructure by allowing partners to make payments 24/7 on weekends and holidays. The Mastercard Crypto Card Program provides a bridge between fiat and digital currencies, allowing users to make payments with stablecoins via physical and virtual cards at point of sale.
The company partnered with MetaMask to enable payments via digital wallets, with USDC and USDT becoming available to users on networks such as Coinbase‘s Base blockchain. For cross-border payments, Mastercard has worked with the Gulf Cooperation Council to facilitate instant peer-to-peer international transfers. The company also leverages stablecoins for enterprise payouts, commercial escrow accounts and global supplier settlements.
On the regulatory front, Mastercard secured a BitLicence from the New York Department of Financial Services to bring its stablecoin offerings to the US state.
Stripe
Stripe moved into stablecoins through its acquisition of Bridge, completed in early 2025 for $1.1bn, a record for a stablecoin company at the time.
Stripe merchants can now add stablecoins as a payment option alongside traditional cards and digital wallets. As a payment processor, Stripe automatically converts the stablecoin and settles funds in the merchant’s Stripe account, with low fees and minimal friction.
Stripe Connect leverages Bridge infrastructure to handle stablecoin payment orchestration on merchants’ behalf, allowing businesses to disburse thousands of small payments in a single process.
Stripe Treasury enables finance teams to use stablecoins to manage capital and cash flow with 24/7 access outside traditional banking hours.
