Stablecoins Move into Card Payments and Remittances
Global card companies are incorporating stablecoins into their payment and remittance infrastructure in earnest. With instances emerging of companies moving beyond partnerships and demonstrations to directly acquiring related infrastructure firms, the application area of stablecoins is also seen rap
Major financial institutions are increasingly integrating stablecoins into their payment and remittance systems, moving beyond mere partnerships to acquire related infrastructure companies directly. The scope of stablecoin applications is rapidly expanding from virtual asset trading to the wider financial sector. Market growth projections suggest the global stablecoin market, currently valued at approximately $300 billion, could reach between $3 trillion and $5 trillion in the future.
In South Korea, while major players like Visa, Mastercard, and Samsung Electronics are developing related technologies and services, discussions for institutionalization are not advancing as quickly. This could potentially widen the gap with the global market. Visa, for instance, revealed its investment plans for the stablecoin ecosystem during its recent earnings release, highlighting OpenUSD, tokenized deposits, and artificial intelligence commerce as future growth engines.
Visa is currently piloting a service that pays freelancers and others in stablecoins instead of traditional payroll, and has partnered with Zero Hash to add a feature to 'Visa Direct' allowing merchants to deposit and receive funds in advance.
Mastercard has finalized the acquisition of the stablecoin payment infrastructure firm BVNK, valued at up to $1.8 billion. This transaction, announced in March, includes an equity value of $1.5 billion and potential performance-linked earnouts. The move signals an expansion of the stablecoin strategy beyond simple partnerships to the stage of securing core payment infrastructure.
Stripe, another global payment network company, acquired Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm, for $1.1 billion in 2024. Bridge supports businesses and developers in integrating stablecoin payment and remittance functions into their existing services.
Samsung Electronics is also exploring the use of smartphones as touchpoints for stablecoins. At its 'Galaxy Unpacked 2026' event on July 22, Samsung unveiled plans to support stablecoins in Samsung Wallet, aiming to expand its financial functions, which include payment processing, identification cards, and boarding passes, into the virtual asset space.
However, institutionalization discussions in South Korea have not gained speed. Despite the government initiating talks on virtual asset-related legislation last year, about 10 bills have been proposed in the National Assembly with several debates held, but legislative progress has been slow due to differing opinions on key issues.
Nevertheless, the government's plan to formally prepare the Framework Act on Digital Assets (Phase 2 Virtual Asset Act) within the year is expected to boost discussions on institutionalizing stablecoins and fostering the virtual asset industry.
Written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
