Visa is experiencing rapid growth in its stablecoin-linked card sector, with the payments company now supporting more than 160 active programs globally. According to the company, transaction volume across these card programs has increased by nearly 200% year over year.
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, stated that stablecoin-linked cards are in a phase of "hypergrowth" as new fintech firms and stablecoin neobanks launch products on the network weekly. Sheffield attributed part of this momentum to the GENIUS Act passed last year, which established federal regulations for stablecoin issuance in the United States and served as a major turning point for the sector. Traditional banks and payment institutions are also increasingly engaging with Visa to develop their own stablecoin offerings.
Alongside its card expansion, Visa has been involved in a pilot lending partnership with Credit Coop to support the financing needs of card issuers. The credit facility pilot has processed $2.7 billion in volume through smart contracts with zero borrower defaults.
To further assist issuers, Visa announced plans to share additional settlement data with blockchain lending companies. The initiative is designed to combine Visa's data with existing onchain lending infrastructure, giving lenders better insight into the financial performance of fintech firms and card issuers. Data shows that nearly $700 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have passed through onchain lending protocols over a six-year period.
Fintech companies such as Rain and FlexSuperApp currently utilize stablecoins to simplify cross-border payments and global payouts for businesses. Visa's developments align with broader industry trends, as competitors like Mastercard, PayPal, and Circle continue to build out their own digital dollar and stablecoin systems.
