Visa announced on April 30 a new card-issuing program that allows users in Latin America to spend stablecoins at any of the 150 million merchants that accept Visa.
The initiative, launched in partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin orchestration platform recently acquired by Stripe, enables fintech developers to issue stablecoin-linked Visa cards across Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile via a single API integration.
The integration facilitates the conversion of stablecoin balances into local fiat currencies during transactions, allowing customers to use digital assets for everyday purchases while merchants receive payments in their standard currency.
Visa chief product and strategy officer, Jack Forestell, said:
“We’re focused on integrating stablecoins into Visa’s existing network and products in a frictionless and secure way. Partnering with Bridge represents a move in helping to make stablecoins usable in everyday life, giving consumers more choice in how they manage and spend their money.”
Bridge manages the movement and conversion of stablecoins behind the scenes on behalf of developers. Lead Bank supports the infrastructure and is the financial institution partner for card issuance.
Customers can also add the Bridge-enabled cards to digital wallets and use them through the existing Visa network.
Visa’s move comes just two days after Mastercard announced a wide-ranging stablecoin payments initiative on April 28. Mastercard is working with partners such as OKX and Nuvei to integrate stablecoins into its global network, allowing users to spend stablecoins and enabling merchants to receive them directly.
The program covers wallet enablement, card issuance, merchant settlement, and cross-border remittances.
Multi-country card programs
The new product allows developers to building with Bridge to issue and manage Visa cards programmatically across multiple jurisdictions, eliminating the need to build country-specific solutions.
When a user in a supported country pays with a Bridge-enabled card, the purchase amount is deducted from their stablecoin balance, converted into the local currency, and settled with the merchant in the same way as traditional card payments.
The announcement follows Bridge’s acquisition by Stripe in February 2025 and is part of a broader strategy to simplify the integration of stablecoins into traditional payment rails.
According to Bridge CEO Zach Abrams:
“Everyone already knows how to use cards for payments, and now everyone will be able to use stablecoins with just a tap of their card.”
The rollout in Latin America aims to meet the growing demand for stablecoins in the region, which are used to store value and fund purchases in local economies.
Chainalysis’ “2024 Geography of Crypto Report” highlighted how stablecoins became vital in Latin America, especially in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela. The applications range from international remittances to being used as a hedge against local fiat inflation.
The firm plans to expand the program across Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Visa’s collaboration with Bridge is intended to abstract blockchain complexities while maintaining compatibility with global payment systems.
The initiative is structured to leverage existing consumer behavior while introducing stablecoin usage, without requiring end-users to manage private keys or on-chain transactions directly.
