Bridge, the stablecoin firm owned by Visa and Stripe, has globally expanded the stablecoin-linked card issuance product introduced last year, which focused on Central and South American countries.
Lead Bank, which was announced as a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot program earlier this year, is also working with Bridge’s stablecoin infrastructure, according to a press release.
Bridge-enabled stablecoin-linked cards are now available in 18 countries, using crypto platforms such as Phantom and MetaMask, with a planned expansion to more than 100 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year, the companies said on Tuesday.
“Expanding our work with Bridge gives us one more way to bring the speed, transparency and programmability of stablecoins directly to the settlement process. This milestone gives our partners more choice in how they move value and reinforces Visa’s role as a trusted network connecting stablecoins and the global payments ecosystem,” said Visa head of cryptocurrency Cuy Sheffield.
Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams said the expansion with Visa will allow companies that launch their own custom stablecoins to seamlessly use them within their card programs.
