Visa seeks new stablecoin settlement partner after Mastercard acquires BVNK

Visa is searching for a new stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter partner after Mastercard completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK, which previously handled Visa's settlement services. According to leaked documents, Visa's request for product requires a partner holding cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Singapore. The selected firm will support multiple stablecoins and handle settlement for the Open USD project, a collaborative stablecoin platform backed by Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard.

Visa stablecoin settlement partner search

• ▪Visa announced a partnership with crypto firm ZeroHash on August 5, 2026, allowing eligible Visa Direct clients to prefund accounts and send payouts using stablecoins
• ▪Visa declined to comment on the reported search for a new stablecoin settlement partner and has not publicly confirmed the request for product
• ▪Visa is searching for a new stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter partner to replace BVNK, according to documents seen by CoinDesk

Mastercard BVNK acquisition

• ▪Mastercard completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK on August 3, 2026, after announcing the transaction in March 2026
• ▪Visa Ventures previously invested in the London-based stablecoin firm BVNK in May 2025, when BVNK was processing $12 billion in annualized stablecoin payment volume
• ▪Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, with BVNK processing approximately $30 billion in annual payment volume at the time of the March 2026 announcement

Multi-jurisdiction licensing requirements

• ▪The requirement for regulatory licensing across four major financial jurisdictions has narrowed the field of potential stablecoin partners for Visa
• ▪Visa's request for product requires the prospective stablecoin settlement partner to hold cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Singapore

Open USD settlement support

• ▪Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform on July 16, 2026, to provide banks and fintechs with tools to access, store, redeem, and move stablecoins, with Open USD as the initial supported token
• ▪Visa's prospective stablecoin partner will handle settlement services for Open USD, a stablecoin project backed by a consortium including Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard

Stablecoin infrastructure competition

• ▪Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion, intensifying competition among major card networks and payments players
• ▪The total stablecoin market capitalization is estimated at approximately $286 billion to $300 billion, according to CoinGecko data

4 sources