Visa seeks new stablecoin settlement partner after Mastercard acquires BVNK

Visa has initiated a search for a new stablecoin settlement partner following the acquisition of its former provider, BVNK, by rival Mastercard earlier this month. The move intensifies the competition between the two payments giants as they seek to establish dominant roles in the rapidly growing digital asset settlement space.

According to a request for proposals issued by Visa, the company is seeking a partner with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The selected firm would be responsible for facilitating swaps between multiple stablecoins and handling settlement for the Open USD (OUSD) project, a new stablecoin initiative backed by Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard. Visa noted that the stringent licensing requirement significantly narrows the field of potential partners.

Mastercard finalized its acquisition of BVNK, a London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm, on August 3, 2026. The deal, valued at up to $1.8 billion, gave Mastercard direct control over technology that Visa had previously relied upon for cross-border settlement operations. This left Visa needing to secure a new proprietary or independent channel for...