Visa Creates Stablecoin-Backed Cards for South American Countries, Including Argentina and Mexico

Visa will launch a new product that allows consumers in Latin America to make payments with stablecoins. The product will be part of a pilot program, launching in countries like Mexico and Argentina. Visa is widely known for its credit card products and ability to make fast transactions. Visa will collaborate with crypto firm Bridge to connect the credit card company with stablecoin wallets. The pilot project, if successful, will be scaled to other continents such as Europe, Africa, and Asia. Stablecoins have become very popular among institutional traders due to their benefits, including low volatility, fast transactions, and secure custodial wallets. Stablecoins enjoy the best of both worlds, combining the flexibility of Bitcoin with the stability of fiat currencies.

The Visa collaboration with Bridge would allow South American workers to use a Visa card with their stablecoin savings. A worker in Argentina could get paid in stablecoins and then use the tokens with a Visa card. There is also the option of using an app such as Apple Pay to pay for products, such as shopping. There is currently a global push to allow for crypto payments. The goal would be to allow users to pay for a wide range of items, such as online shopping, fast food, groceries, and utility bills, using cryptocurrencies like stablecoins to make the purchases. Visa is doing a similar thing, only with a credit card, which could boost crypto adoption in South America. Many people are already using US dollars to offset inflation, and may find the Visa card very convenient. 

The pilot program would include countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. People would be able to use a Visa card to pay for products at any outlet that accepts Visa cards. FinTech companies will be able to provide customers with a card. Visa is hoping to expand the project to Europe and other continents. Visa is a well-known company worldwide, with $9 billion in revenue for its last quarter, based in San Francisco, and is looking to embrace blockchain technology. The partnership with Bridge, a crypto payments business, could allow Visa to expand its services further. Scaling this project to other continents could occur within a matter of months, depending on the success of the current project. 

Jack Forestell, Chief Product Officer at Visa, said that the company would take existing processes and adapt them for real-world applications. Forestell anticipated a new approach of creating smaller pilot programs so that Visa could experiment more and adapt to a changing market. Zach Abrams, CEO OF Bridge, said that stablecoins would need to be adapted to services that customers already use, so that more consumers could adopt the digital asset. Stablecoins have the potential to be used worldwide. But they need to be integrated with local services first. If stablecoins are integrated into many local services, then users could easily travel the globe and pay for just about anything. 

Stablecoins were created as an alternative to Bitcoin, allowing traders to move funds around without worrying about their price fluctuations. Stablecoins are often pegged to a fiat currency, such as the US Dollar, with a one-to-one price correspondence. Stablecoins should theoretically enable instant payments, but the lack of participating shopping outlets still limits them. Bridge will handle the backend of the Visa project, allowing consumers to use stablecoins to purchase products. Bridge will accomplish this by deducting a user’s stablecoin from their wallet when items are bought, and then converting it to a local currency, so that merchants can receive payment from the sale.