The company Baanx, specializing in debit cards, has teamed up with Visa to launch payment cards in stablecoins linked to self-service wallets. The first in the U.S. will be USDC from Circle.
Baanx is also working with Mastercard on a card linked to MetaMask wallets.
Visa cards allow holders to spend USDC by using smart contracts to transfer the balance of stablecoins from the consumer's authorization of the card to Baanx in real-time, and Baanx converts the balance into fiat currency for payment.
According to the press release, Visa cards linked to stablecoins promise global coverage and the ability to make low-cost cross-border payments.
"In many regions, access to stable currency is a luxury. We are giving people the ability to store and spend stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars seamlessly – in real-time self-custody – everywhere Visa is accepted," said Simon Jones, Chief Commercial Officer of Baanx in his statement.
"We know that the payment ecosystem is still in the early stages of stablecoin adoption, but real utility is coming to the forefront, and we look forward to what’s next," said Rubail Birvadker, Head of Growth Products and Partnerships at Visa.
