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Visa are busy… just days after announcing a major agentic AI play and rumours of talks with Tools for Humanity, Visa Ventures has made a strategic investment in stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK.
This signals a significant endorsement of stablecoins as a cornerstone of future payments.
A pivotal moment for stablecoins
It marks the first time Visa has taken a direct equity stake in a company focused exclusively on stablecoin-based payments infrastructure – a move that reflects the card giant’s growing commitment to digital currency innovation.
BVNK
BVNK, headquartered in the UK and now expanding into the US market, has quickly emerged as a key player in the digital payments landscape.
With an annualised processing volume of $12 billion, the company offers stablecoin-powered payment rails that enable faster, cheaper transactions for institutions without requiring them to grapple with blockchain complexities.
This latest investment builds on BVNK’s $50 million Series B funding round in late 2024, which attracted backing from notable investors including Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, and Avenir.
Visa’s involvement, however, is viewed by BVNK as both a commercial opportunity and a strategic vote of confidence.
“This is powerful validation from the world’s largest payments network,” said Chris Harmse, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at BVNK.
“It confirms that stablecoins are no longer experimental – they’re becoming the next chapter in the evolution of global payments.”
BVNK Infrastructure
BVNK’s infrastructure has already attracted enterprise interest across a variety of use cases.
On the B2B side, it facilitates settlement in stablecoins for merchant acquirers such as dLocal, Rapyd and Trust Payments.
In the B2C realm, it supports payroll and payout platforms like Deel, allowing users in over 85 countries to receive income in US dollar-backed stablecoins – a preferred option in markets with volatile local currencies.
Underpinning BVNK’s offering is its Layer1 platform, a digital asset payments stack launched in 2024.
Designed to abstract away the complexity of blockchain integration, Layer1 enables developers and financial institutions to build stablecoin-based services without engaging directly with blockchain protocols.
The company has also introduced embedded stablecoin-enabled wallets, enhancing flexibility for businesses seeking to offer users frictionless access to digital dollars.
What’s in it for Visa?
For Visa, BVNK represents a model of the type of financial infrastructure the industry is gravitating towards.
“Our aim is to be where the future of money is headed,” said Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s Head of Growth Products and Partnerships.
“BVNK is a clear example of how the stablecoin ecosystem is becoming increasingly practical, scalable and regulated.”
Visa has long engaged with crypto, but its stablecoin strategy has notably accelerated.
Recent initiatives include settlement via USDC, collaborations with Stripe’s Bridge for stablecoin-linked cards, and a “stablecoin sandwich” model that uses them as the intermediary layer in fiat-to-fiat transactions.
While the hype around blockchain has often been obscured by technical opacity, stablecoins are now offering genuine solutions to longstanding frictions in cross-border payments – namely speed, cost, and accessibility.
With regulatory clarity improving and institutional appetite growing, Visa’s investment in BVNK suggests that stablecoins are no longer peripheral, they are foundational to the future architecture of global payments.
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