Visa Scours for New Stablecoin Partner as Consortium-Led Strategy Faces Test

Visa's search for a new stablecoin settlement partner reveals a strategic divide in its approach to the rapidly growing market. The payment giant is currently shopping for a replacement after losing its previous provider, BVNK, which was acquired by Mastercard in August.

The relationship between Visa and BVNK was once closely aligned, with Visa taking a strategic stake in the firm in May 2025 at a valuation of around $750 million. The two companies entered a partnership in January 2026 to enable stablecoin payments on Visa Direct.

However, Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK signaled the end of that collaboration and forced Visa to rebuild its infrastructure. The RFP requirements for the new partner reveal the complexity of the task ahead, with Visa demanding a firm that holds cryptocurrency-exchange licenses in key jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, the UK, and Singapore.

The most telling detail in the RFP is the requirement to handle settlement for the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin project, which is backed by a consortium of over 140 firms, including heavyweights like BlackRock and Coinbase. Visa's current stablecoin stack remains operational, but it depends entirely on finding a new, reliable settlement backend that can satisfy the OUSD consortium's rigorous standards.