Visa Direct Goes Live With USDC as Mastercard and Stripe Expand Stablecoin Payments

Four payment networks and infrastructure providers are putting stablecoin balances to work in payouts, business accounts and cards.

Payment companies announced several different ways to make stablecoins useful within existing financial products this week. Visa Direct moved USDC prefunding from a pilot into commercial operation with Inyo Global. Mastercard and BVNK opened a platform combining fiat and stablecoin accounts, while Stripe expanded the countries where fintechs can issue stablecoin-backed cards. Marqeta and Coinbase separately agreed to build card programs funded from stablecoin balances. These are distinct products with a shared practical question: how can a business move or spend digital dollars without asking its customers or merchants to adopt a new checkout? The answer depends on integration details, local eligibility and where conversion to fiat happens. The announcements describe live capabilities as well as planned expansion, which should not be treated as the same thing.

Visa and Inyo Move USDC Prefunding Into Commercial Visa Direct Payouts

Visa moved its USDC prefunding capability for Visa Direct into commercial production, with Inyo Global as its first enabler. Eligible payment businesses using Inyo can now fund cross-border payout activity with USDC in near real time, rather than waiting solely for conventional funding windows.

Inyo integrated the feature into the APIs it already offers to money transmitters, fintechs and banks. Visa said the platform supports domestic and international payouts across more than 180 countries, but availability of the new stablecoin funding option depends on eligibility and geography. The Visa announcement describes prefunding of payouts, not a claim that every Visa Direct recipient is paid in USDC. For businesses comparing crypto payment gateways, the relevant change is an additional way to supply liquidity to a familiar payout network.

Mastercard and BVNK Launch Global Money Platform for Fiat and Stablecoin Accounts

Mastercard and BVNK launched Global Money Platform, a single-API service that lets banks, fintechs and enterprises build accounts holding fiat currencies alongside stablecoins. It combines conversion, stablecoin-linked cards and local bank payouts through Mastercard Move.

The joint announcement says the platform is available now through BVNK. Nuvei, Marqeta, Ontop, Beem and Almond FinTech are named among its initial integrators. Mastercard says Move reaches more than 17 billion endpoints; coverage of more than 40 currencies across 200-plus countries is expected in 2027, not available in full today. A business can therefore plan a common account and payout layer, while checking which corridors and crypto finance services are actually supported at launch.

Stripe Expands Stablecoin Card Issuing to the EU and Payouts to 160 Markets

Stripe launched stablecoin card issuing in 27 EU countries, taking the product to more than 65 countries worldwide. The company also expanded Global Payouts so businesses can send instant stablecoin payouts to recipients in 160 markets from its dashboard or APIs.

Under Stripe's October 16 update, cards can draw on a custodial wallet, a noncustodial wallet or a Stripe financial account. Stripe converts the balance into local currency at the point of sale, so the merchant receives an ordinary card payment. Traditional-currency payouts are available to recipients in more than 100 markets. Stripe plans card-issuing coverage in 100 countries by the end of 2026; that figure is a target, not the current footprint. The expansion gives fintechs another route to offer crypto cards without requiring every store to accept a token directly.

Marqeta and Coinbase Plan Stablecoin-Backed Cards for Enterprise Customers

Marqeta and Coinbase announced an expanded partnership to let Marqeta's enterprise customers issue cards backed by stablecoin balances. Coinbase will provide custody and fiat conversion, Base will support onchain settlement, and Marqeta will handle card issuance, processing, and its bank and network relationships.

The companies describe an enterprise offering rather than a consumer card already available to everyone. Their official announcement says businesses will be able to fund card programs around the clock and cardholders will be able to spend at merchants that accept cards. The practical connection is the conversion and issuing stack behind a normal card transaction. Users with balances in crypto wallets may see more products that let them spend through existing card networks, subject to each program's availability and terms.