Visa is looking for a new stablecoin settlement provider, according to a request for proposals that CoinDesk reported on August 18, 2026. The search follows Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK, which closed in early August in a deal worth up to $1.8 billion. BVNK had been handling Visa's stablecoin settlement, and it now belongs to Visa's closest rival.
BVNK is a UK-based stablecoin payments infrastructure company. Visa Ventures invested in it in May 2025, and the relationship became a formal partnership announced on January 14, 2026. The sale leaves Visa in a spot the payments industry knows well: a key supplier now owned by the rival network.
Visa wants multiple stablecoins and licenses in four markets
The requirements are specific. The provider must be able to swap and settle a range of stablecoins, not just one. It must hold crypto exchange licenses in four jurisdictions: the US, Canada, the UK, and Singapore. Visa also splits the work into two roles, a settlement partner and an over-the-counter (OTC) counterparty, and a single bidder could be picked for either one.
| Requirement | Scope |
|---|---|
| Multi-stablecoin swaps | conversion between several tokens, not a single token |
| Open USD settlement | the shared token backed by Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard, among others |
| Licenses | US, Canada, UK, Singapore |
| Two separate roles | settlement partner, OTC counterparty |
The reference to Open USD shows what is at stake. The shared dollar stablecoin, unveiled on June 30, 2026, by a group of payments companies that includes Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard, needs a working settlement chain before it can exist anywhere but on paper. Whoever Visa picks will sit at a chokepoint for a token both networks back jointly, even as they compete everywhere else along the chain.
Stablecoins settle around the clock, but conversion needs a licensed partner
A card network's conventional settlement runs through correspondent banks and follows the operating hours of large-value payment systems. A transaction between two distant currencies can sit unsettled for one or two business days. During that time the funds are tied up, and one of the members carries the currency risk.
Stablecoins work differently. Transfers run continuously, weekends included, and funds arrive within minutes. Visa built on that with the Visa Stablecoin Platform, launched in July 2026, which gives banks tools to access, store, redeem, and move stablecoins. The chain still needs an intermediary that can convert one token into another, and then into central bank money, under each country's licensing regime. That was BVNK's job.
Networks now buy settlement links for digital assets
The deal fits a broader shift. Card networks have long bought processors, fraud-prevention firms, and bank-data aggregators. Now they are buying links in the settlement chain for digital assets, a category that was outside their scope five years ago. Few companies hold the necessary licenses in several jurisdictions and have the technology to match, so every acquisition immediately narrows the field for rivals.
The winner, the contract term, and Open USD are the next tests
Three things are worth watching. The first is who wins, and in particular whether it is a crypto-native firm or a bank that has obtained the required licenses. The second is how long the commitment runs: a short settlement contract would leave Visa exposed to a repeat of what just happened. The third is Open USD, whose settlement chain is being built while its backers put their own providers out to bid.
Settlement was long treated as invisible plumbing that only network members talked about. It is now an open competitive front. Once settlement runs around the clock and outside correspondent banks, whoever controls that link controls part of a rival's timetable.