Visa and Yellow Card Team Up to Bring Stablecoin Payments in CEMEA Region

Visa began settling transactions in USDC (USD Coin) on the Ethereum blockchain in 2023, and has since facilitated over $225 million in cross-border volume using stablecoin rails. Now, by extending the programme across the CEMEA region, Visa allows select partners and financial institutions to settle cross-border treasury payments in USDC—offering a compelling alternative to conventional correspondent banking.

The expansion marks a broader strategic shift by Visa to embed blockchain into mainstream finance. The company has invested in infrastructure providers such as BVNK and recently launched stablecoin-linked card initiatives in partnership with Bridge, a payments startup acquired by Stripe. These moves position Visa at the center of a rapidly evolving ecosystem where traditional card networks and programmable crypto assets converge.

In Africa, where demand for faster and more affordable access to U.S. dollar–backed assets is especially strong, Visa has partnered with Yellow Card, a leading crypto exchange operating in 20 African countries. Yellow Card enables users to buy, sell, and transfer digital assets, with a strong emphasis on stablecoin-based transactions. The company has processed billions of dollars in volume and recently secured $33 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital.

The collaboration aims to bring stablecoin-powered payment rails to markets with limited USD liquidity and high remittance costs. With most cross-border flows in Africa still reliant on slow and expensive intermediaries, Yellow Card and Visa hope to reduce transaction times from days to minutes. CEO Chris Maurice said the goal is to build a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain-enabled money movement that is secure, transparent, and accessible.

The collaboration is targeted at markets with limited access to U.S. dollars and high remittance costs. Visa and Yellow Card aim to leverage stablecoin-powered rails to shift cross-border payments in Africa from slow, expensive traditional intermediaries to near-instant, lower-cost blockchain-based settlements. According to CEO Chris Maurice, the goal is to bridge traditional financial infrastructure and blockchain-enabled payments by providing secure, transparent, and accessible solutions.

This strategy is well-timed. Africa is experiencing a surge in stablecoin use, driven by inflation-prone local currencies, capital controls, and high fees for traditional remittances. Research from Chainalysis and BeInCrypto shows that stablecoins have overtaken Bitcoin in usage across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Yellow Card itself reports that up to 99% of its transaction volume now involves stablecoins like USDT or USDC.

Regulators across Africa are starting to act. Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Mauritius have made significant moves—from licensing crypto providers to registering digital assets and tightening oversight. Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, introduced in early 2025, creates a detailed licensing framework managed by the CBK and CMA. These regulatory developments mirror Visa’s approach of building stablecoin solutions within formal legal structures.

By extending stablecoin settlement across the CEMEA region, Visa aims to unlock efficiencies not only in consumer payments but also in B2B transactions. Its executives have stated that cross-border corporate flows—often clogged by time zone mismatches and banking friction—stand to benefit significantly from real-time, blockchain-based clearing. The move supports the broader thesis that stablecoins are evolving from speculative instruments to essential payment rails for businesses and institutions.

The implications are substantial. Stablecoin settlements can reduce the cost of cross-border transactions by eliminating intermediaries. They can also provide resilience for corporate treasuries managing exposure to multiple currencies, while offering a stable store of value in jurisdictions plagued by currency volatility. For the millions of underbanked individuals across Africa and other emerging markets, the ability to receive or hold funds in stablecoins represents a new form of financial access.

This is not Visa’s first foray into crypto integration, but it may be its most consequential to date. With Circle and other fintech partners laying the groundwork for stablecoin liquidity, and governments starting to offer clearer guidance on digital assets, the infrastructure is falling into place. Visa’s global network—touching 150 million merchants and 14,500 financial institutions—offers unmatched reach for testing and scaling these innovations.

By linking its global payments network with stablecoins and regional crypto exchanges, Visa is effectively rewriting the rules of financial interoperability. The company’s partnership with Yellow Card could prove especially influential, serving as a template for how legacy institutions and crypto-native firms can collaborate to drive both financial inclusion and systemic efficiency.

As the world inches closer to programmable, always-on money movement, Visa’s latest moves may be remembered as an early blueprint for what the next-generation payments ecosystem looks like—faster, borderless, and built on blockchain.