Stablecoins Partner with Visa and Mastercard, Not Replace Them

Stablecoins can facilitate fast and secure transactions globally, but they don't replace traditional card networks. Despite their benefits, stablecoin cards still need Visa and Mastercard to function.

This is because stablecoins solve one problem, moving value between wallets, while card networks address another: providing merchant acceptance, authorization, fraud controls, disputes, and connections to banks and payment processors worldwide.

As a result, stablecoin cards are evolving into a new funding and settlement layer underneath traditional card networks. According to Visa, the number of transactions processed through stablecoin-linked cards reached $5.2 billion in 2025, a 319% increase from the previous year.

The process of using a stablecoin card is similar to making a regular payment. When a user spends USDC at a restaurant, the transaction works as follows: USDC wallet → card issuer → Visa/Mastercard → merchant bank → merchant. The card provider checks the customer's balance, reserves, or converts the required stablecoins and sends the payment through the conventional card network.

Visa explains that stablecoin-card programs can verify wallet balances, reserve funds, and convert them when necessary while keeping the merchant experience largely unchanged through its stablecoin card infrastructure. This ability to hide blockchain complexity is one of the main reasons card networks still matter.