Visa Is Reportedly Looking for a New Stablecoin Settlement Partner After Mastercard’s BVNK Deal

Visa is reportedly shopping for a stablecoin settlement partner with multi-regional licensing, a sign that card networks are still building the plumbing around digital-asset settlement rather than waiting for the market to sort itself out. For PSPs, the important bit is not the headline race; it is which counterparties can actually clear, settle and stay licensed across the U.S., U.K., Canada and Singapore.

1. According to a CoinDesk report published Tuesday, Aug. 18, Visa is looking for a stablecoin partner that can handle settlement across multiple regions. The report says Visa wants a replacement for BVNK, the stablecoin company Mastercard acquired earlier this month.
2. The report cites a Visa request for product (RFP) seen by CoinDesk. It describes support for swapping and handling a variety of stablecoins, including settlement for the newly introduced Open USD stablecoin project led by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard, which is intended to support a range of stablecoins.
3. Visa said the need for a stablecoin partner licensed in all major markets has narrowed the field. The company is considering one settlement, and in particular an over-the-counter (OTC) partner, licensed in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Singapore.
4. CoinDesk also notes that the stablecoin push has continued even as the broader crypto market has softened. It cites CoinGecko data showing that stablecoins now have a total market cap of roughly $300 billion.
5. Mastercard first announced the planned $1.8 billion purchase of BVNK in March and finalized the deal at the start of this month. Mastercard said the acquisition was meant to expand “how people and businesses exchange value by enabling interoperability across fiat and digital currencies.”

For high-risk PSPs, the signal is straightforward: settlement partners with real licensing coverage are becoming strategic assets, not commodity vendors. And the consumer side is still moving in the same direction, with recent PYMNTS Intelligence research saying 77% of consumers would open a crypto or stablecoin wallet through an existing banking or FinTech app.