Visa launches a platform for banks to issue stablecoins

Payments giant Visa announced the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) on 16 July 2026: an environment where banks and fintechs can mint, move and manage stablecoins without having to build the complex infrastructure themselves.

What is VSP?

The platform bundles everything an institution needs to work with stablecoins: issuance (minting), transfers and management — including Wallet-as-a-Service, dual-control approvals and full audit logging. VSP also connects to Visa's existing settlement and treasury systems. It starts with Open USD (OUSD), a stablecoin from Open Standard.

‘The hard part is the execution’

According to Jack Forestell, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Visa, stablecoin technology opens up ‘a new layer of programmable money, but for most institutions the hard part isn't the concept — it's the operational side.’ That is exactly the problem VSP aims to remove.

Why it matters

Until now, issuing a stablecoin was something for specialised crypto firms. By lowering the operational barrier, Visa makes it attractive for ordinary banks and payment providers to step in. Reportedly, Visa is aiming this at its global network of more than 200 million acceptance points.

What does it mean for Europe?

In the EU, stablecoins fall under MiCA, which regulates them as e-money tokens (EMT). Euro stablecoins have grown fast since those rules arrived. A platform like VSP could make issuing regulated stablecoins — including in euro — far more accessible for European banks, even though the current offering is dollar-based.

Caveat

VSP is in beta for now with a select group of clients; Visa has not dated a broad rollout. And OUSD is a dollar stablecoin — the direct impact on the eurozone depends on which euro variants follow.

Sources: Visa, Fortune, Bloomberg. Last checked: 23 July 2026.