A Visa stablecoin partner search is now underway. The details show how seriously card networks are taking the shift toward on-chain settlement. Visa needs a new firm to handle stablecoin payouts, OTC trades, and cross-border settlement.
Its previous partner got scooped up by a rival, leaving that role empty. Four markets sit at the center of the hunt: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. That mix says almost as much about Visa’s priorities as the search itself.
Why the Visa Stablecoin Partner Search Started
Visa’s old arrangement ran through BVNK, a firm that handled stablecoin settlement, payouts, and prefunding for Visa Direct. That relationship ended once Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK in early August.
The deal pulled BVNK’s licenses and infrastructure into a rival’s stack instead of Visa’s. Suddenly Visa had no settlement and OTC provider just as stablecoin volumes kept climbing. So it opened a confidential request for proposals, hoping to fill the gap quickly.
The Four Markets in Visa’s Stablecoin Partner Search
Reports describe Visa’s requirements as unusually specific. The winning partner must hold exchange licenses in all four countries at once, instead of stitching together separate regional deals. Britain and the United States are natural fits, since so much Visa volume already flows through both.
Singapore fits too, since the city-state has become a hub for institutional crypto liquidity in Asia. Canada’s presence on the list stands out more. It hints at how the country’s regulatory reputation has shifted over the past year.
What the Visa Stablecoin Partner Search Wants to Find
Whoever wins this deal needs more than paperwork. Visa wants support for multiple stablecoins at once, plus swap capability between them. It also wants enough institutional liquidity to absorb large settlement flows without slippage.
Open USD sits at the center of that requirement. Visa helped launch the token earlier this year alongside Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and more than a hundred other partners. Actually, positioning it as a rival to Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC was always the point.
Canada’s Rules Add a Wrinkle
Operating a crypto settlement business in Canada isn’t as simple as opening a local office. Any firm serving Canadian clients has to register as a money services business with FINTRAC. That applies even without a physical presence here, once it starts marketing services to people in the country. Whoever wants Visa’s business will need to clear that bar alongside licensing in three other jurisdictions at the same time.
Ottawa has been busy on this front too. Parliament recently passed Canada’s Stablecoin Act. It sets clearer rules for how stablecoins get backed and how issuers disclose redemption terms to holders.
For a payments company weighing Canadian coverage, that clarity probably makes the decision easier rather than harder. It also fits a broader pattern of stablecoin regulation in Canada trying to catch up with an industry that grew faster than expected.
What This Search Says About the Stablecoin Race
Card networks are racing to lock down stablecoin infrastructure this year, and Visa is far from alone. Mastercard just paid real money to buy BVNK outright rather than simply partner with it. That alone tells you how much this space matters right now.
Meanwhile, PayPal, Stripe, and a handful of banks are building similar rails at roughly the same time. Whoever Visa picks next will end up handling a meaningful slice of how stablecoins move through the traditional payment system. In that sense, the Visa stablecoin partner search matters well beyond one company’s vendor list.
Which company Visa ultimately chooses will say a lot about who controls stablecoin rails in Canada and beyond. If crypto payments already interest you, this is a story worth following once Visa makes its call.
