(17 September 2026 – Global) When the question is asked “where are stablecoins headed?”, Visa has just delivered a comprehensive answer – into the real economy.
Visa is making more data available to enterprises lending on the blockchain as stablecoin-linked cards record rapidly rising demand. CNBC’s Talia Kaplan reports the payments major is set to integrate its settlement data with onchain lending infrastructure, arming lenders with greater insight into the financial performance of digital asset-focused fintech firms and card issuers.
Visa recently launched its new stablecoin platform “VSP” which allows for settlements, expands stablecoin-linked card programs and aims to help financial institutions access new digital asset capabilities.
The payments giant matched releases by key rivals such as Mastercard, which is also investing in stablecoins and has its own platform. PayPal and Circle also operate their own stablecoin platforms.
Visa currently operates more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs for issuers and program managers representing a 200 percent increase year-on-year.
To meet resurgent stablecoin demand and appetite for capital the group is establishing partnerships to allow new issuers access to financing programs through smart contracts and onchain credit.
“We announced we’re connecting VisaNet settlement data to blockchain-based lenders, helping the fast-growing stablecoin card ecosystem access working capital more efficiently. The numbers tell the story with 200 stablecoin-linked card programs globally with volume more than doubling year-on-year and US$20 billion plus in annualised stablecoin settlement volume in August, up 15 times year-on-year” commented Visa CFO Chris Suh.
“Rather than replacing traditional finance, this approach expands its reach by meeting innovative companies where they are and giving lenders the visibility they need to confidently back the next generation of payment businesses” Suh added.
“Stablecoin-linked cards are in hypergrowth mode. There are new issuers, including stablecoin neobanks and fintech firms, joining the network and launching cards every week. We’ve been running a pilot with a company called Credit Coop that is enabling a credit facility for stablecoin-linked card providers, which we think is a positive step forward for how onchain credit can start to come into our network” Visa Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield commented to CNBC in an exclusive interview.