Stripe Aims to Expand Stablecoin Cards to 100 Countries by 2026
Stripe, the global payments company, is planning a major expansion of its stablecoin card programs, aiming to operate in over 100 countries by the end of 2026. The cards allow users and businesses to spend dollar-linked digital tokens at checkout. Henri Stern, CEO and co-founder of crypto wallet company Privy, shared this timeline in an interview with CoinDesk. Stripe acquired Privy in 2025, and Stern now oversees stablecoins and crypto initiatives at Stripe. Current card customers include Morse, Ramp, and Kraken.
Stablecoin spending through these cards has surged, with about $1.2 billion spent last month, tripling the amount from a year earlier. Despite this growth, stablecoins still represent a small fraction of global card payments. The overall stablecoin market exceeds $300 billion.
Stripe’s expansion aligns with a similar target announced by Visa and Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company owned by Stripe. Their joint card program is already active in 18 markets, with a focus on Latin America. The planned rollout will extend to Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. Cardholders can spend directly from stablecoin balances in wallets like MetaMask and Phantom, with transactions processed across Visa’s network of 175 million merchant locations.
Initially, Bridge converted stablecoin balances to fiat at the point of sale, ensuring merchants received local currency. Now, through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, transactions can be settled on-chain with Visa. Lead Bank is also part of a Visa pilot testing stablecoin settlement between card issuers and acquirers. Visa is exploring support for stablecoins created by businesses on Bridge’s platform, distinct from those issued by Tether or Circle.
Stripe is also introducing OUSD, a stablecoin for businesses launched by Open Standard. Stern highlighted that OUSD offers better economics for businesses compared to other stablecoins. Bridge co-founder Zach Abrams has left to lead Open Standard full-time. Stern emphasized that Stripe, Bridge, Privy, Tempo, and OUSD are designed to work together without locking customers into Stripe’s ecosystem. The approach is agnostic regarding both the stablecoin and the blockchain used. Additionally, Stripe is exploring tokenized deposits and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, though specific plans remain undisclosed.