Visa is on the hunt for a new settlement partner, and the search says a lot about how fast the stablecoin business has turned into a battleground for the world’s biggest payment networks. The company is looking for a settlement and over-the-counter partner holding cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore, a move that signals just how central digital dollars have become to Visa’s future plans. This Visa stablecoin partnership search comes as the card giant races to keep pace with rivals who have already made bold moves of their own.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Visa is seeking a settlement and OTC partner licensed in the US, Canada, UK and Singapore.
- The chosen partner will handle settlement for the Open USD stablecoin project, backed by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard.
- Open USD plans to support multiple stablecoins, and Visa’s request for product calls for the ability to swap and support a range of tokens.
- Visa recently launched its own Visa Stablecoin Platform, with OUSD as the first supported token.
- The total stablecoin market cap sits around $300 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
Visa’s Search for a Licensed Settlement and OTC Partner
Visa wants one company to do the heavy lifting on settlement and OTC services, but that company needs licenses in four separate jurisdictions at once. That requirement alone narrows the candidate pool dramatically, which appears to be exactly the point.
Licensing Requirements Across Key Markets
According to Visa’s request for product, the ideal partner must hold cryptocurrency exchange licenses across the US, Canada, UK and Singapore. These four markets represent some of the most tightly regulated crypto environments in the world, and few firms can claim clean licensing across all of them simultaneously. That’s a deliberate filter, not an accident. Visa appears to be prioritizing regulatory coverage over speed, betting that a fully licensed partner will reduce compliance friction as stablecoin volumes scale.
Focus on a Single Partner
Rather than spreading the work across several vendors, Visa said it is focusing on one specific settlement and OTC partner licensed in all its target markets. The company confirmed that the need for multi-market licensing has already narrowed the field considerably. This matters because it suggests Visa wants a single point of accountability for a function as sensitive as stablecoin settlement, rather than juggling multiple relationships with varying compliance standards.
Role and Features of the Open USD Stablecoin Project
The partner Visa selects won’t just handle routine settlement work. It will also be responsible for settlement within the Open USD stablecoin project, an initiative fronted by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard that is designed to work across a range of digital dollar tokens rather than a single one.
Multi-Stablecoin Support
Open USD is built to support multiple stablecoins, not just one branded token. That design choice reflects a broader shift in the industry: issuing a stablecoin has become relatively easy, but making it usable across merchants, banks and consumers is the harder problem.
Visa’s RFP Requirements for Stablecoin Swapping and Settlement
Visa’s request for product spells out a specific technical need: the ability to swap and support a range of stablecoins, not just settle transactions in one. That requirement ties directly back to Open USD’s multi-token ambitions. A partner capable of swapping between different stablecoins gives Visa flexibility as new tokens enter the market, rather than locking the network into a single asset that could lose relevance if user preferences shift.
Visa’s Infrastructure and Market Context
None of this is happening in isolation. Visa’s partner search fits into a broader infrastructure push the company has already started building, and it comes against the backdrop of a stablecoin market that keeps expanding even while the rest of crypto trades sideways.
Launch of the Visa Stablecoin Platform
Last month, Visa rolled out its own Visa Stablecoin Platform, giving banks, fintechs and payment providers the tools to access, store, redeem and move stablecoins. OUSD serves as the platform’s initial supported token, which makes the search for a settlement and OTC partner feel less like a side project and more like the next logical step in a plan already underway. Building the rails first and then securing the licensed partners to operate them suggests Visa is sequencing its stablecoin strategy carefully rather than reacting to events as they unfold.
Competitive Pressure and Market Scale
Why does the timing matter? Because Stripe didn’t wait around. The payments company acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion, a deal that put pressure on both Visa and Mastercard to move faster on their own stablecoin ambitions rather than risk being outflanked. That acquisition arguably explains why Visa is now pursuing a licensed partner with such urgency: Stripe already owns infrastructure that Visa still needs to secure through a third party.
The stakes are sizable. The total stablecoin market capitalization stands at roughly $300 billion, according to CoinGecko data, and that figure has continued climbing even as the broader crypto market has stayed largely flat and bearish. Stablecoins have become one of the few consistently growing corners of the industry, which explains why Visa, Mastercard and Stripe are all racing to control distribution rather than just issuance.
Visa declined to comment on the ongoing partnership search, leaving the specifics of timing and candidate names unconfirmed for now. But the broader picture is clear enough: this Visa stablecoin partnership push, paired with the Open USD stablecoin project and the demand for robust stablecoin settlement infrastructure, shows a payments giant trying to lock down licensed partners before the next wave of digital dollar competition arrives.
FAQ
What is Visa looking for in a stablecoin settlement partner?
Visa seeks a settlement and OTC partner with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the US, Canada, UK and Singapore to handle settlement for the Open USD project.
What is the Open USD stablecoin project?
Open USD is a stablecoin project supported by Stripe, Visa and Mastercard that plans to support multiple stablecoins and requires a partner to handle settlements.
Why is Visa narrowing the field to one partner?
Visa’s RFP focuses on finding one partner licensed in all major markets to simplify compliance and operational efficiency.
How does Visa’s stablecoin initiative fit in the current market context?
Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform recently to support stablecoins like OUSD amid a roughly $300 billion stablecoin market and competitive pressure from Stripe and Mastercard.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
