- On Thursday, Visa introduced Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a brand-new platform to allow banks, fintech companies, and crypto firms to mint, move, and manage stablecoins in a single Visa-managed environment.
- The new platform comes with various features, including stablecoin-linked cards, efficient cross-border payments via Visa Direct, and many more.
- In the initial phase, VSP integrated the newly launched stablecoin from Open Standard, Open USD (OUSD).
On July 16, Visa, a leading payment network, announced the launch of the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a brand-new platform to allow banks, fintech companies, and crypto firms to mint, move, and manage stablecoins in a single Visa-managed environment.
Visa Rolls Out New Stablecoin Platform with Support for Open USD
According to Visa’s official page, the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) is the platform that allows users to store, access, mint, and manage their stablecoins in a secure environment. The platform has also integrated other existing Visa tools in order to embed stablecoin capabilities into existing payment flows.
“VSP is interoperable with Visa’s existing stablecoin offerings, including stablecoin settlement, stablecoin-linked cards, and stablecoin money movement. Together, these capabilities provide a full stack of solutions that help FIs and fintechs come onchain and enable crypto platforms to access Visa’s global network,” stated in the official press release.
There are various features mentioned in the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) in the official announcement.
Users will be able to use Stablecoin-linked cards that allow users to spend stablecoin balances directly at millions of merchants around the world through Visa’s large network.
On the Visa Stablecoin Platform, users will be able to move money cross-border by using Visa Direct across fiat and stablecoin systems.
The platform comes with secure storage and issuance options with strong compliance and security features.
In the initial phase, Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) has integrated the newly launched stablecoin Open USD (OUSD), which is a stablecoin launched by Open Standard. Open USD is designed to make stablecoins practical for real-world payments.
Jack Forestell, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Visa, stated in a press release, “Stablecoins are opening up a new layer of programmable money, but for most institutions the hard part isn’t the concept, it’s the operational reality. With the Visa Stablecoin Platform, we’re giving our clients a single place to mint, move and manage stablecoin operations with the controls, security and network reach they already expect from Visa. It’s how we help them turn interest in stablecoins into real products and real payment flows.”
In the last few months, Visa has been aggressively expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities through support for more blockchains and assets like USD-pegged stablecoins. In the pilot testing, the payment network has already recorded substantial annualized settlement volumes.
However, as of now, Visa is only available for beta testing.
Visa and Mastercard Expand Support for Stablecoin Payments
Visa and Mastercard have recently made many major announcements regarding their efforts to integrate digital assets. This comes after progress in major regulatory frameworks, such as the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act. By doing this, Visa and Mastercard want to make cross-border payments more efficient by cutting down costs along with settlement time. This integration will enhance cross-border transfers, remittances, and settlements.
Mastercard is also expanding its stablecoin settlement capability, including partnerships for end-to-end payments from wallets to merchant checkouts. In June, Mastercard raised its support for Open USD (OUSD) along with a major consortium of more than 140 companies, including Visa, Stripe, BlackRock, Coinbase, and others.
In March, Visa and Bridge announced a partnership, which is expected to roll out stablecoin-backed Visa cards to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.
There have been many collaborative efforts taking place in the last few months, including shared platforms backed by companies like Stripe and Coinbase. These major payment networks are directly challenging existing stablecoin leaders, such as USDT and USDC. By using their merchant networks, these payment networks are also boosting the adoption of stablecoins.
In 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act and turned it into the first federal law for stablecoins. This has encouraged many companies and enterprises to integrate stablecoin into their existing financial infrastructure. Due to this, the overall stablecoin market capitalization has also soared above $320 billion this year. However, amid the bearish trend in the crypto market, it has witnessed a drop and currently stands at around $310 billion, according to DeFiLlama.
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