Visa Says It Now Supports More Than 160 Stablecoin-Linked Card Programmes
Visa says volume on its stablecoin-linked cards grew nearly 200% in a year, 17% of it on business cards. Stripe has added OUSD to its card issuing.
Visa said on 1 October 2026 that it supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programmes, and that payments volume across them has grown nearly 200% year over year. About 17% of that volume in its 2026 financial year to date came from business and commercial cards rather than consumer ones.
The figures come from Visa's own network data and were published in a press release about stablecoins in business payments. Visa did not name the programmes or give the volume in dollars.
What Visa said
- More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programmes, across consumer, business and commercial cards
- Payments volume across them up nearly 200% year over year
- About 17% of stablecoin-linked card volume in its 2026 financial year to date on business and commercial programmes
Mark Nelsen, Visa's global head of product for commercial and money movement solutions, said businesses "aren't looking for new payment technologies for the sake of innovation. They're looking for trusted, reliable ways to move money."
Visa also quoted research from the data firm Allium, which estimates stablecoin payments at $401 billion to $527 billion a year. The largest business categories are service fees ($56 billion), payroll ($43 billion) and supplier payments ($28 billion), and business-to-business payments had the highest cross-border share, at 43%.
What the numbers do and do not tell you
A growth rate with no base is hard to weigh. Nearly 200% means volume has roughly tripled, but Visa gives no dollar figure, and "stablecoin-linked" is its own classification.
The number of programmes is the more useful figure for cardholders. It shows how many issuers have built on the same model, where a card spends from a stablecoin balance and Visa's network handles the rest. On this site, Visa cards funded from stablecoins include the Solid Card and the KAST Card, and our Visa crypto cards page lists the rest. Visa's release does not say which issuers it counted.
Also this week: OUSD arrives in card issuing
A second announcement points the same way. On 30 September 2026, Stripe said it had made Open USD (OUSD) available across its products, including card issuing. Stripe describes OUSD as a new stablecoin from Open Standard, "an independent company founded by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa", launched with more than 200 network partners and available on Base, Ethereum, Solana and Tempo.
Two details matter for card programmes. Businesses can convert between dollars and OUSD at no cost, with Open Standard charging "a small, predictable transaction fee" instead. And companies building on Stripe can issue stablecoin-backed cards that spend an OUSD balance. Stripe has made OUSD on Tempo its default stablecoin setup, while still supporting others. Tempo is the payments blockchain that Wirex is adding for card settlement.
For cardholders this is plumbing, as with SoFi's move to stablecoin settlement last month. It becomes visible only if issuers pass lower costs on, as smaller FX fees or fewer charges for loading a card.
Sources: Visa, Visa Data Shows Stablecoins Gaining Traction in Business Payments (1 October 2026); Stripe, OUSD is now available on Stripe and OUSD is now the default stablecoin on Stripe (30 September 2026). The OUSD details are as stated by Stripe, one of Open Standard's founders; we could not open Open Standard's own site when we checked. Checked 3 October 2026.
Common questions
How many stablecoin card programmes does Visa support?
More than 160, according to Visa's press release of 1 October 2026, across consumer, business and commercial cards. Visa says payments volume on them grew nearly 200% year over year, but it gives no dollar figure and does not name the programmes.
What is a stablecoin-linked card?
Visa's release does not define the term. In general it describes a card that spends from a stablecoin balance, such as USDC or USDT, while the card network pays the merchant in the usual way.
What is OUSD?
Open USD, a dollar stablecoin from Open Standard, which Stripe describes as an independent company founded by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe and Visa. Stripe says it launched on 30 September 2026 and can be used on Stripe to hold funds, pay out and issue cards.
Cards mentioned in this article
Card figures referenced here come from each issuer's published terms and each card page shows when its data was last verified — see our methodology for how, and the changelog for what has changed since. Rewards and availability vary by region and move often. Not financial advice.