Reap, Visa launch stablecoin Visa cards in 100+ markets

On Sept. 23, 2026, Reap and Visa announced plans to roll out stablecoin-linked Visa credit card programs across more than 100 markets, expanding Reap’s card issuing footprint beyond Asia and Latin America into Europe, the Middle East, Africa and other regions. Reap is named as the issuer infrastructure partner for the programs.

Reap’s issuing stack will provide network authorization, card processing, compliance frameworks and operations to partners that want to launch and scale stablecoin-funded card programs on Visa rails. Visa described the collaboration as enabling partners to use Reap’s infrastructure to issue cards and manage program operations at scale.

Visa cited industry and internal figures in the announcement. The release referenced Artemis Research data showing stablecoin-linked card programs growing at about a 106% compound annual rate, compared with about 5% for peer-to-peer crypto payments. Visa reported a global stablecoin settlement run rate of $20 billion annually, up 15-fold year over year, more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs on its network and acceptance at over 175 million merchant locations.

Reap already participates in Visa’s stablecoin settlement program in the Asia Pacific region and settles obligations with Visa directly in stablecoins. The agreement extends that issuing and settlement infrastructure into additional geographies and enables settlement over blockchain rails outside traditional banking hours. The partners say around-the-clock settlement can reduce the need for large pre-funded fiat balances and avoid delays tied to bank operating hours.

The programs support several use cases. Corporates can fund card programs for treasury and cross-border spending with stablecoins. Platforms can run vendor payouts and global vendor spend through a card experience. Embedded B2B platforms can offer branded card programs with stablecoin funding and repayment flows. Reap plans multicurrency stablecoin card capability so programs can accept multiple stablecoins and currencies. Visa and Reap also plan to explore agent-driven payments where authenticated AI agents execute transactions within user-set parameters.

Daren Guo, co-founder of Reap, described the collaboration as a landmark Asia Pacific partnership and said the agreement provides a compliant infrastructure pathway for companies to issue cards and scale through a single partner. Stephen Karpin, president of Visa Asia Pacific, described stablecoin-linked card programs as entering a new stage of adoption and noted Visa will work with firms like Reap to expand trusted payment infrastructure to more markets and use cases.

The announcement presents market reach in terms of logo geography rather than live program status. Local licensing and program-level compliance remain necessary for operations in many jurisdictions. Issuers may still need local settlement banking and capital arrangements, and operators must secure program approvals and licenses where required.

The expansion comes as other firms develop stablecoin-backed card offerings on alternative rails. Separately, Payward/Kraken agreed in May 2026 to acquire Reap for up to $600 million in a deal expected to close in the second half of 2026; the Sept. 23 announcement noted the acquisition remained pending and Reap continued to operate under its own brand.