StraitsX Partners with Visa to Bring Stablecoin Cards to 100+ Markets

Singapore-based stablecoin infrastructure provider StraitsX announced a partnership with Visa on 15 October 2026 to expand its stablecoin-backed card issuing capabilities to over 100 markets worldwide. The company, which holds a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, currently operates card programmes across Asia that generate more than $6 billion in annualised gross transaction volume.

The expanded service targets fintechs, Digital Payment Token service providers, and wallet operators looking to issue cards linked to stablecoin balances and digital asset payment flows. Cardholders will be able to spend at any merchant accepting Visa, while the underlying infrastructure settles in stablecoins. The rollout is subject to regulatory, compliance, and Visa requirements in each jurisdiction.

The partnership addresses a key distribution challenge for stablecoin issuers: enabling point-of-sale usage without requiring merchants to adopt new payment rails. By integrating with Visa's acceptance network, StraitsX can offer clients access to tens of millions of merchant locations globally while retaining stablecoin balances and settlement on its own infrastructure.

Tianwei Liu, chief executive and co-founder of StraitsX, framed the move as a natural evolution from settlement-layer use cases to everyday payments. "Expanding our issuing capabilities globally allows us to bring the same infrastructure to businesses looking to build and scale card programs across markets," he said. Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Partnerships at Visa, described the collaboration as connecting stablecoin payment flows to the scale and reliability of Visa's global network.

StraitsX issues the XUSD and XSGD stablecoins and operates under a Major Payment Institution licence from MAS. That regulatory standing provides a foundation for expansion, but launching card programmes in new jurisdictions will require satisfying local licensing requirements in each market.

Several key regions have established stablecoin-specific regulatory frameworks in recent years. The European Union's MiCA regime for electronic money tokens came into force earlier this year, while regulators in the Gulf — including the UAE's VARA and ADGM — have rolled out their own stablecoin licensing regimes. StraitsX will need to navigate these varied frameworks before card programmes can go live in those jurisdictions.

The announcement also noted that the collaboration would address anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks arising from stablecoin-card integration, a significant operational consideration given the cross-border nature of the product and the differing AML frameworks across the 100-plus target markets.

StraitsX is one of several infrastructure providers working to connect stablecoin balances to card networks. Firms operating in the US, Europe, and South-East Asia are pursuing similar models, and Visa itself has been active in the space for several years through stablecoin settlement pilots and partnerships with other issuers.

The competitive question for StraitsX is whether its Asia-rooted regulatory track record and existing transaction volume give it a differentiated position in signing fintech clients outside that home region. The company's established $6 billion annualised GTV figure provides a credible commercial foundation, but scaling that globally will depend on execution in new markets.

The key milestones to monitor include which non-Asian markets see card programmes launch first, whether StraitsX acquires additional stablecoin licences outside Singapore, and whether the $6 billion annualised GTV figure grows as global issuance comes online. The company's ability to navigate regulatory approvals in major markets will determine the pace and scope of the rollout.