With the rapid rise of stablecoins and crypto payments, fintech companies are collaborating with traditional financial giants to seamlessly integrate cryptocurrencies into the global payment network. Recently, issuer Visa announced partnerships with Baanx and Bridge to launch a new financial card supporting USDC, aimed at enabling users to make global purchases directly through their crypto wallets.
Baanx and Visa Collaborate to Launch Self-Custodial USDC Payment Card
Cryptocurrency payment card company Baanx has teamed up with Visa to introduce the first stablecoin payment card linked to self-custodial wallets, initially supporting the USDC issued by Circle, which is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar in the United States:
Cardholders can immediately transfer USDC from their crypto wallets to Baanx after authorization via smart contracts, which will then instantly convert it to fiat currency for payment.
Previously, Baanx also collaborated with Mastercard to launch a financial card integrated with the MetaMask wallet, further expanding applications in the crypto payment market.
Visa Partners with Bridge for New Card Launching in Latin America
In addition to the collaboration with Baanx, Visa has partnered with the recently acquired startup Bridge by Stripe to launch a Visa financial card supporting stablecoins. The card will first be launched in six Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, allowing merchants to receive payments in local fiat currencies while users can spend using stablecoins.
Bridge will be responsible for the backend infrastructure, assisting in processing stablecoin deductions and fiat currency conversion processes, enabling merchants to easily complete stablecoin payments and receipts when accepting Visa for both business and regular users.
Real-time, secure, and autonomous: Stablecoin payments enter the mainstream limelight
Simon Jones, Chief Business Officer of Baanx, expressed support for financial access in certain regions: “In many areas, access to stable currencies remains a luxury.”
“We enable people to hold and spend USDC in a self-custodial and real-time manner in any place that supports Visa, which is the future of finance.”
Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s growth and product lead, added, “While stablecoin payments are still in the early stages, real-world applications are gradually emerging, and we are excited about the future.”
The integration with payment providers and other infrastructures will bring significant breakthroughs to stablecoin applications; people have already become accustomed to card payments, and now stablecoins will be easily incorporated.
Crypto Payments Become a New Battleground: Issuers and Stablecoin Issuers Compete
As demand for crypto payments rises, various financial institutions are laying out payment infrastructures such as financial cards.
Mastercard announced yesterday that, due to its close cooperation with MetaMask, Baanx, Ledger, Paxos, and OKX, it will integrate its “Global End-To-End Stablecoin Payment System” and “The Mastercard Multi-Token Network (MTN)” to promote comprehensive solutions for remittances, consumption, and payments based on stablecoins.
On the other hand, Circle recently indicated that it will launch its own payment network “CPN,” expected to focus on cross-border payments and remittances, showing a growing trend for stablecoin issuers to directly engage in the payment space, undoubtedly intensifying competition.
Stablecoin Payment Cards: Breaking Boundaries with Crypto Financial Tools
Whether it is Baanx or Bridge’s solutions, they signify the increasingly important role of stablecoins in the global payment system.
As one of the largest card issuing organizations globally, Visa successfully bridges the last mile between on-chain assets and real-world consumption through collaborations with these crypto startups, paving the way for the future of digital finance.
Risk Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high level of risk, and their prices may fluctuate significantly, resulting in the loss of your entire principal. Please assess risks carefully.