Visa Seeks New Stablecoin Settlement Partner After Mastercard Completes $1.8 Billion BVNK Acquisition

Visa Hunts For New Stablecoin Partner After Mastercard Acquires BVNK

Visa is looking for a new firm to handle stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter trading after Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK, the infrastructure provider that had previously worked with Visa.

The payments giant has issued a request for proposals seeking a partner that can support stablecoin swaps and settlement across major markets, with a particularly strict licensing requirement covering the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Visa Needs A Partner With Licences In Four Markets

According to a request for proposals reported by CoinDesk, Visa is seeking both a settlement partner and an OTC partner capable of handling multiple stablecoins.

Each prospective partner must hold cryptocurrency exchange licences in all four required jurisdictions, limiting the number of firms that can qualify for the role.

Visa declined to comment on the reported documents.

The search follows Mastercard's completion of its BVNK acquisition on 3 August 2026.

Mastercard announced the deal on 17 March 2026 at a valuation of up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in potential contingent payments.

BVNK had built infrastructure for fiat and on-chain payments across more than 130 countries, making its move to Mastercard particularly important for Visa as it develops its own stablecoin services.

How Mastercard Took BVNK Away From Visa

Visa and BVNK had previously worked closely together.

Visa took a strategic stake in BVNK in May 2025 at a valuation of roughly $750 million, before partnering with the company in January 2026 to support stablecoin payments through Visa Direct.

Mastercard's acquisition brought that independent relationship to an end and gave its rival control of BVNK's infrastructure.

Mastercard plans to integrate BVNK's technology into Mastercard Move, its cross-border and remittance network, to support stablecoin settlement around the clock.

The acquisition also came after a roughly $2 billion deal between BVNK and Coinbase collapsed late last year, leaving Mastercard as the eventual buyer.

Open USD Is Central To Visa's Search

Visa's new partner will also need to support Open USD, or OUSD, as the payments company expands its stablecoin settlement infrastructure.

Open USD is a multi-stablecoin project backed by more than 140 businesses, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, Google, Coinbase and DBS.

Open Standard launched the project on 30 June 2026, with OUSD expected to go live later this year.

The project is designed to allow businesses to mint and redeem the token without fees or volume limits, while returning most reserve earnings to distribution partners.

Rather than relying on one stablecoin issuer, Open USD is intended to support multiple stablecoins, giving settlement infrastructure an important role in the project.

Visa's Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said on 30 June 2026:

"In payments, scale only comes with trust. As stablecoins evolve, the focus must shift from speed to reliability, governance and interoperability."

Visa Builds Its Own Stablecoin Platform

The search for a replacement partner comes as Visa expands its own stablecoin infrastructure.

Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform on 16 July 2026, giving banks, fintech companies and payment providers tools to access, store, redeem and transfer stablecoins through a Visa-managed environment.

Open USD was the first token supported on the platform, linking the new system directly to the settlement arrangements Visa is now seeking to strengthen.

The platform initially opened for beta testing with selected clients ahead of a wider rollout.

Visa And Mastercard Are Building Competing Stablecoin Rails

Visa's search puts the two major payment networks on increasingly competitive paths as both build infrastructure for stablecoin payments.

Mastercard now controls BVNK and plans to use its technology across Mastercard Move, while Visa is developing its own platform and seeking licensed partners to manage the underlying settlement and OTC activity.

For Visa, finding a firm licensed across the US, Canada, UK and Singapore will be an important part of maintaining stablecoin settlement capabilities as Open USD and its wider platform move towards commercial use later in 2026.