Visa Seeks New Stablecoin Partner After Mastercard Acquisition

Visa has started looking for a new stablecoin settlement partner after Mastercard acquired BVNK, its previous infrastructure provider. The acquisition closed on August 3, 2026, and removed BVNK from the market, handing it to a direct competitor.

The request for product (RFP) seen by CoinDesk reveals that Visa is seeking a firm capable of swapping and settling multiple stablecoins, including Open USD, while holding crypto exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Singapore. The licensing requirement across all four jurisdictions has narrowed the field of potential partners.

Visa's search comes against the backdrop of Open USD, a multi-stablecoin project led by Zach Abrams with backing from over 140 companies including BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, Google, Coinbase, and DBS. The token is expected to go live later in 2026, and Visa's prospective partner will need to support it as part of its settlement infrastructure.

The move highlights the intensifying competition among traditional payments companies to own stablecoin infrastructure. With the stablecoin market standing at approximately $286 billion in total value outstanding, per CoinGecko, payments giants are racing to control this strategic ground.