Visa Teams With Bridge to Drag Stablecoins Into Mainstream Spending—Banks Start Sweating

Visa just handed stablecoins a golden ticket to real-world usability. Partnering with crypto platform Bridge, the payments giant plans to integrate dollar-pegged digital currencies into everyday commerce—because apparently, 7% inflation wasn’t enough motivation to ditch fiat.

No more off-ramps, no more wallet gymnastics. The partnership promises direct stablecoin-to-merchant settlement, cutting out the usual crypto friction like a hot knife through bureaucratic butter.

Banks left playing catch-up (again). While traditional finance still debates CBDCs, Visa and Bridge are effectively building the rails for a parallel financial system—one that bypasses legacy delays and settlement risks. The irony? This infrastructure may eventually make banks redundant for small transactions.

Just don’t call it a revolution—it’s merely capitalism doing what it does best: monetizing the inevitable while pretending it’s innovation.

Stablecoin card access across Latin America

Initially launching in six Latin American countries — Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile — the program allows consumers to pay with stablecoins at over 150 million Visa-accepting merchants worldwide. 

Users can fund their cards with stablecoins, which Bridge converts into local fiat currencies at the point of sale. Merchants receive payments in their local currencies without any exposure to crypto.

“This is a massive unlock for developers,” said Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge. “Everyone already knows how to use cards, and now everyone will be able to use stablecoins with just a tap.”

🌎 JUST IN: Visa and Bridge launch stablecoin-backed cards across Latin America.

Users in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile can now spend stablecoins via Visa merging crypto and everyday payments. pic.twitter.com/CpyqFJVEah

Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Jack Forestell, emphasized the company’s goal to integrate stablecoins securely into its global network, providing more financial options to consumers. 

Developers using Bridge will be able to manage card issuance and funds movement programmatically, with support from Lead Bank as the financial partner.

The product is expected to expand beyond Latin America to Europe, Africa, and Asia in the coming months, as interest in stablecoin-based payments continues to grow globally.