Visa Hunts for a New Stablecoin Partner After Mastercard Snapped Up BVNK

Visa searches for a stablecoin settlement partner

Visa is looking for a new stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter (OTC) partner, according to a request for product reported by CoinDesk. The search fills a role previously held by BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure firm that Mastercard acquired earlier this year. The request describes the need to swap and support a range of stablecoins across major markets. Visa declined to comment on the documents.

Mastercard completed its BVNK acquisition in August

Mastercard closed its acquisition of BVNK on 3 August 2026, removing the firm from Visa's roster of independent partners. The company first announced the deal in March, valuing it at up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. The purchase followed the collapse of a roughly $2 billion deal between BVNK and Coinbase late last year. BVNK's platform supports fiat and on-chain payments across more than 130 countries, which explains why its exit left a gap for Visa to fill.

The new partner must hold licences in four markets

According to the reported request, Visa needs a partner with cryptocurrency exchange licences across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Visa said that requirement narrows the field of candidates. The payments company is examining one settlement partner and one over-the-counter partner in particular, each holding licences in all four markets.

Open USD settlement sits at the centre of the search

The prospective partner would also handle settlement for Open USD, the dollar stablecoin project that Visa fronts alongside Stripe and Mastercard. Open Standard launched the token, known as OUSD, on 30 June 2026 with more than 140 partner businesses. Open Standard lets businesses mint and redeem the token at no cost and with no volume limits, and returns most reserve earnings to its distribution partners. The project plans to support multiple stablecoins rather than a single issuer, and expects OUSD to go live later this year.

"In payments, scale only comes with trust. As stablecoins evolve, the focus must shift from speed to reliability, governance and interoperability.", 30 June 2026. — Jack Forestell, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Visa

Visa launched its stablecoin platform last month

Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform on 16 July 2026. The system gives banks, fintechs and payment providers tools to access, store, redeem and move stablecoins through one Visa-managed environment. Open USD served as the initial supported token, linking the platform directly to the settlement work Visa now wants a new partner to handle. Visa opened the platform for beta testing with select clients before a wider rollout.

Stablecoins anchor a fast-moving payments race

The stablecoin sector kept expanding while the broader crypto market stalled. Tether's USDT held a market value near $183 billion and Circle's USDC near $71.8 billion (CoinPaprika, 18 August 2026), the two largest dollar tokens. Stripe's $1.1 billion purchase of Bridge in late 2024 pushed card networks to secure their own stablecoin infrastructure, and Visa's partner search marks its next move in that race.