Visa looking for new stablecoin settlement partner after BVNK sale to Mastercard

Visa is looking for a new stablecoin settlement partner with licensing capabilities across multiple regions, according to documents seen by CoinDesk. This would fill the role previously held by BVNK, the stablecoin firm acquired by Mastercard earlier this year.

Visa’s request for product (RFP) talks about the ability to swap and support a range of stablecoins, as well as handle settlement for the newly introduced Open USD stablecoin project, fronted by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard, which plans to support multiple stablecoins.

The need for a stablecoin partner licensed in all major markets means the scope of potential partners has narrowed somewhat, Visa said. The payments giant said it is looking at one settlement and an over-the-counter (OTC) partner in particular, with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Singapore.

The stablecoin race hasn’t slowed down despite a flat bearish market persisting across the rest of the crypto industry. As such, stablecoins have become a focal point for the large card networks and payments players. The total stablecoin market cap is about $300 billion, according to CoinGecko data.

Making strategic moves became more urgent when Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. This probably put pressure on the likes of Visa and Mastercard to start kicking the tires of other stablecoin shops so as not to be outflanked by Stripe’s aggressive approach.

Last month, Visa launched its Visa Stablecoin Platform, giving banks, fintechs, and payment providers tools to access, store, redeem and move stablecoins, with OUSD serving as the initial supported token.

Visa declined to comment.