Visa is looking for a new stablecoin settlement partner to replace the role previously handled by BVNK, which was acquired by Mastercard earlier this year, according to documents reviewed by CoinDesk.
Licensing across four markets is part of the brief
Visa’s request for product, or RFP, says the prospective partner needs to support swaps across a range of stablecoins and handle settlement for the newly introduced Open USD stablecoin project.
CoinDesk reported that Open USD is backed by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard, and is intended to support multiple stablecoins.
The documents say Visa wants a partner that can cover both settlement and over-the-counter, or OTC, activity, with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Singapore. Visa said the need for a stablecoin partner licensed in all major markets has narrowed the field of potential candidates.
Stablecoins remain a focus for major payments firms
The report says the race around stablecoins has not slowed even as the rest of the crypto industry remains in a flat bearish stretch. That has kept stablecoins near the center of attention for large card networks and payments companies. CoinGecko data cited by CoinDesk puts the total stablecoin market cap at about $300 billion.
CoinDesk also said strategic positioning became more urgent after Stripe bought stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. The report said that move probably increased pressure on companies such as Visa and Mastercard to assess other stablecoin providers so they would not be outpaced by Stripe’s approach.
Visa launched its own stablecoin platform last month
Last month, Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform, offering banks, fintechs and payment providers tools to access, store, redeem and move stablecoins. OUSD was the first token supported on the platform.
Visa declined to comment.