Visa (NYSE: V) is seeking a new stablecoin settlement and over the counter (OTC) partner after Mastercard’s (NYSE:MA) acquisition of its previous provider, BVNK. Originally reported by CoinDesk this move goes beyond a simple vendor change and underscores diverging approaches by the two payment networks in the expanding stablecoin space.
Let us explain.
Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK on August 3, 2026, in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion. BVNK had partnered with Visa since early 2026 to enable stablecoin pre-funding and payouts on Visa Direct, following a strategic investment by Visa Ventures in May 2025. Mastercard’s purchase, first announced in March 2026, ended that collaboration and allows the company to integrate BVNK’s on-chain infrastructure into its own cross-border and remittance offerings, including 24/7 stablecoin settlement capabilities.
Visa’s response to unexpectedly losing an industrial strength partner.
Visa’s request for proposal (RFP) requires a partner holding cryptocurrency-exchange licenses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The selected firm must also swap and support multiple stablecoins and handle settlement for the Open USD (OUSD) project. These licensing demands limit the pool of qualified crypto-native candidates.
The search illustrates a clear strategic split as the firms compete in a nascent stablecoin market valued at $300 billion1. Mastercard is pursuing vertical integration by owning core infrastructure. Visa emphasizes a consortium model centered on OUSD, which includes both rivals and aims for broader scalability through shared participation, which introduces greater complexity and dependency on external partners. 1Real-economy payments (B2B, payroll, remittances, identifiable consumer use): Only about 1% of the reported 2025 movement, or more than $300 billion (of which ~$226 billion was B2B). This is still growing rapidly (reported as ~30× higher than two years earlier in some analyses). Bot driven activity, DeFi, internal exchange movement and wash trading dramatically inflate the raw volume-the above is the Street’s best real world estimate.
OUSD Sounds Familiar.
On July 4 we wrote: “Stripe is making OUSD the default stablecoin on its platform as part of its strategy to support the next phase of global commerce growth. Other key backers include Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Coinbase, American Express, Google, Shopify, BNY Mellon, Ripple, and Solana, spanning payments, banking, technology, and crypto sectors.
The initiative is positioned as a collaborative effort to create a business-friendly alternative to existing stablecoins like USDC and USDT, by shifting the economics so that reserve yields are shared with the partners who distribute and use the token rather than being retained primarily by a single issuer. Overall, the June 30 announcement represents a significant push toward a shared, partner-aligned stablecoin ecosystem aimed at lowering costs and improving incentives for high-volume business users.”
OUSD is designed for zero-fee minting and redeeming with no volume limits, with most reserve yield distributed to distribution partners after a management fee. Governance is shared via an independent entity rather than a single issuer. Launch is targeted for the second half of 2026 across multiple blockchains and the RFP’s emphasis on OUSD settlement reflects its significant role in Visa’s plans.
What happens to Visa’s stablecoin efforts in the near term?
Visa’s existing stablecoin efforts remain active in the interim. The Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), introduced in mid-July 2026, provides institutions tools to access, store, redeem, and move stablecoins, starting with OUSD. Separately, on August 5, 2026, Visa added stablecoin prefunding and payout capabilities to Visa Direct through a collaboration with Zero Hash, reaching more than eighteen billion endpoints (including payment cards, banks, digital wallets) across 195 countries and territories. CoinDesk later clarified that neither BVNK nor Zero Hash has been selected for broader VisaNet stablecoin settlement; BVNK’s prior role focused on Visa Direct payouts and prefunding.
Stripe could emerge as Visa’s key ally.
Stripe (private) could be Visa’s new best friend. Visa’s previous preferred partner just got taken out by their biggest competitor soon after that relationship was solidified. Ouch. Time to pivot. Enter Open USD (OUSD), the stablecoin initiative strongly championed by Stripe. We do not believe that simply including a new service in a large consortium automatically guarantees commercial success. We do believe, however, that two highly influential players with closely aligned interests (and few alternatives) can drive OUSD adoption more effectively than the broader consortium alone.
The company snapshot
Visa is set to enable three hundred billion global transactions worth more than $13 trillion. What is more, the company serves 175 million locations, five billion credentialed users through 14,500 financial institutions in two hundred countries worldwide. As always, interested parties should review the company’s SEC filings, web site, investor presentations, and the earnings conference call transcripts.
