Visa Stablecoin Card Volume Jumps Nearly 200% Year-Over-Year

Visa reported more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs on Oct. 1, with payment volume up nearly 200% from the previous year. The cards let customers spend USDC while merchants receive local currency, so restaurants and other businesses do not need to accept crypto directly. Visa's partnership with Bridge, which Stripe acquired in 2025, supports this model in Colombia by handling conversion into Colombian pesos.

Why it matters

The payment may look simple at the terminal, but several companies can share the economics. The consumer app manages the relationship, a regulated issuer provides the card, Visa connects the institutions, the merchant's payment provider handles acceptance, and a conversion or settlement provider may sit between them. Revenue can come from interchange, network and processing fees, transaction charges, subscriptions, currency conversion and settlement financing.

Stablecoin funding does not remove the traditional costs of card payments. Providers still face fraud prevention, compliance, customer support and chargebacks. Bridge advertises a card product that lets program operators retain 100% of interchange and charge additional transaction fees, but the amount left after operating and partner costs depends on each program's arrangements.

Market impact

Settlement timing creates another source of demand. Rain uses a revolving credit facility from Credit Coop to meet Visa settlement obligations, then directs incoming cardholder proceeds through smart contracts to repay the borrowing and interest. Visa says the arrangement has reduced borrowing costs by as much as 30% for some participants, although the terms and allocation of credit risk are undisclosed.

Rewards face the same margin test. UK interchange caps leave at most 20 pence on a qualifying £100 domestic debit purchase, while 2% cashback would cost £2 before operating expenses. Providers therefore need subscriptions, conversion charges, token lockups, outside subsidies or repeat customer spending to fund generous rewards.

The customer advantage is clearest for people who already earn or hold stablecoins and can avoid repeated transfers through an exchange and bank. For others, conversion spreads and foreign exchange costs can erase the benefit. Growing volume shows adoption, but it does not yet prove that customers keep using the cards after incentives end or that providers consistently earn more than they spend serving them.