April #StablecoinPayments 30 (Reuters) - Seen (VN), opens a new tab as the stablecoin infrastructure provider startup Bridge is partnering to offer Visa cards linked to stablecoins for customers in various countries in Latin America, which, according to the companies, will allow users to make daily purchases in cryptocurrency tokens.

The move comes at a time when the U.S. Congress seems poised to approve a bill creating rules for stablecoins for the first time, which, experts say, could pave the way for more financial companies to use or issue their own stablecoins.

WHY IT MATTERS

Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, typically pegged 1:1 to the dollar, are commonly used by cryptocurrency traders to move funds between tokens. Advocates argue that they could be used to send payments instantly, but it is still challenging to use stablecoins for everyday purchases, as merchants usually do not accept payments in cryptocurrencies.

Bridge - which was acquired by Stripe earlier this year - will work on the back-end of the transactions that customers make with their linked Visa cards to deduct funds from the user's stablecoin balance and then will convert the payment into the local currency for the merchants.

Through the partnership with Visa, developers creating products on Bridge will be able to add Visa cards linked to stablecoins to their offering set.

Users will be able to use stablecoin-linked cards at any commercial establishment that accepts Visa. New card programs may be issued in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Visa and Bridge announced that the product will be available in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the coming months.