Visa has announced a partnership with WeFi, a fintech startup co-founded by a former Tether executive, to integrate cryptocurrency payment capabilities into Visa's global payment network, with a stated focus on expanding financial access to underbanked communities worldwide.
Visa is deepening its push into digital assets with a new collaboration involving WeFi, a startup led by a co-founder of Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin by market capitalisation. The partnership aims to connect onchain banking infrastructure to Visa's established payment rails, potentially reaching populations that lack access to traditional banking services.
WeFi's founder, who previously played a key role at Tether, has positioned the venture around building stablecoin payment infrastructure for underserved markets. The Visa collaboration would give WeFi access to the card giant's global merchant network and payment processing capabilities, while Visa gains a foothold in the emerging onchain banking space.
According to reporting by CoinDesk, the core vision is to construct what the company describes as 'onchain banks' — digital financial institutions that operate using blockchain-based infrastructure rather than traditional core banking systems. For users in regions where bank account penetration is low, this model could theoretically allow smartphone-based access to payment and savings services without the overhead of a conventional bank.
The Block reported that the deal adds to a rapidly growing list of initiatives between established payment networks and digital asset firms. Visa has previously partnered with crypto exchanges and stablecoin issuers, and competitor Mastercard has similarly pursued integrations with blockchain-based payment providers.
The specific financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed by either party. It also remains unclear at this stage which markets WeFi intends to target first, or what regulatory frameworks will govern the product offerings in those jurisdictions.
The collaboration reflects a broader industry trend in which legacy payment infrastructure providers are seeking to integrate with — rather than compete against — the growing stablecoin and crypto ecosystem. Stablecoins, which are pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar, have found increasing utility in cross-border payments, particularly in emerging markets where currency volatility and limited banking access create demand for dollar-denominated alternatives.
WeFi's connection to Tether's co-founding team may draw scrutiny, given that Tether has faced ongoing questions from regulators and critics regarding its reserve transparency and compliance history. How WeFi navigates its own regulatory posture — and how closely Visa has examined that background — may become a point of interest for industry observers.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Visa's partnership signals that mainstream payment networks are increasingly willing to build around stablecoin infrastructure rather than waiting for regulatory certainty to fully materialise.
- For underbanked populations — estimated at over 1.4 billion adults globally by the World Bank — onchain banking models could represent a genuine leap in access, bypassing the cost and complexity of traditional bank licensing.
- The deal adds legitimacy to the stablecoin payments space at a time when US and international regulators are actively debating how to supervise such instruments.
Background
Visa has been quietly building its crypto strategy for several years. As early as 2021, the company announced it would settle transactions in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain, and has since expanded crypto-linked card partnerships with firms including Crypto.com and Coinbase. The broader payments industry has watched as stablecoins — once dismissed as a niche crypto product — began processing trillions of dollars in annual transaction volume.
Tether, founded in 2014, became the dominant stablecoin issuer with its USDT token, though the company has faced persistent scrutiny over whether its dollar reserves fully back outstanding tokens. Despite regulatory uncertainty, Tether has maintained dominance in cross-border and emerging market transactions, particularly in Latin America, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa — the same regions WeFi appears to be targeting.
The concept of 'onchain banks' is gaining traction as blockchain infrastructure matures. Rather than interfacing with legacy banking core systems, these models use smart contracts and digital wallets to replicate savings, payments and remittance functions, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional correspondent banking.
Key Perspectives
Visa: The partnership diversifies Visa's digital asset strategy and positions it to capture transaction volume from emerging market users who may never hold a traditional bank account but are increasingly smartphone-connected.
WeFi / Collins: The collaboration provides the critical distribution and trust that a new fintech entrant would struggle to build independently, lending WeFi immediate credibility with merchants and regulators.
Critics/Skeptics: WeFi's association with Tether's founding team may raise due diligence questions for observers familiar with Tether's regulatory history. Separately, 'financial inclusion' has often been invoked by crypto firms to generate goodwill without delivering measurable outcomes — analysts will want to see specific market commitments and measurable user targets before assessing the initiative's real-world impact.
What to Watch
- Which specific emerging markets WeFi and Visa announce as launch targets, and what licensing or regulatory approvals they secure in those jurisdictions.
- Progress of stablecoin regulation in the United States and European Union, which will significantly shape how broadly Visa can deploy and market such products.
- Whether other major payment networks — particularly Mastercard and PayPal — respond with competing onchain banking partnerships in the near term.