Visa and Bridge aim to extend stablecoin-linked card services to more than 100 nations.

Bridge has formed a collaboration with Lead Bank, a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement initiative, to assist businesses and fintech companies in providing Visa cards backed by stablecoins.

A Visa card being held to next to a payment terminal. (CardMapr.nl/Unsplash)

What to know:

• Stablecoin-linked cards enabled by Bridge are currently operational in 18 nations, with aspirations to expand to 100 worldwide by the end of the year.
• The stablecoin-linked cards are utilized with platforms such as Phantom and MetaMask.

Visa and the Stripe-owned stablecoin enterprise Bridge have broadened the global reach of their stablecoin-linked card issuance service, initially introduced last year, which primarily targeted Central and South American regions.

Lead Bank, identified as a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot earlier this year, is also collaborating with Bridge’s stablecoin infrastructure, as stated in a press release.

Bridge-enabled stablecoin-linked cards are now operational in 18 countries, engaging with crypto platforms like Phantom and MetaMask, with a planned expansion to over 100 nations across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by the year’s conclusion, according to the companies on Tuesday.

“Expanding our collaboration with Bridge provides us with an additional method to incorporate the speed, transparency, and programmability of stablecoins directly into the settlement framework. This achievement offers our partners enhanced options for value transfer and underscores Visa’s position as a reliable network linking stablecoins and the global payments ecosystem,” stated Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto.

Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams remarked that the expansion with Visa will permit businesses launching their own customized stablecoins to seamlessly integrate them within their card programs.