Visa (V) is working with blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure company, WeFi, to help establish the “last half mile” that can provide users with robust on-chain banking and payments services, the companies said Tuesday.
WeFi, co-founded by former Tether OG Reeve Collins, describes its platform as “an orchestration layer between decentralized finance (DeFi) and regulated payments infrastructure, designed to support use cases such as cross-border spending and on-chain storage of value,” according to a press release.
“We’re upgrading the pipelines and essentially offering people bank accounts, because soon they’ll have their IBAN numbers, and we’re getting various licenses around the world to operate properly,” Collins said in an interview.
As the platform grows, the plan is to partner with more banks and institutions, with an eye toward the world’s unbanked, Collins said.
The launch will take place region by region, starting with select markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Expansion into additional markets will depend on local regulatory approvals and issuing partnerships.
“Partnering with Visa really closes that last half mile of on-chain banking infrastructure,” Collins said.
“This collaboration demonstrates how Visa’s global network interacts with on-chain models, while operating within established regulatory frameworks and the reliability that consumers and merchants expect,” Mathieu Altwegg, Visa’s head of European Products and Solutions, said in a statement.
