Visa may need to rethink its stablecoin settlement strategy after Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK, the infrastructure provider that had become a key partner for Visa Direct.
Mastercard completed the acquisition on Aug. 3, taking control of BVNK after agreeing to pay up to $1.8 billion. The deal gives Mastercard direct access to technology supporting stablecoin payments, settlement, wallets and fiat conversion.
For Visa, the development is significant because BVNK had powered stablecoin payment capabilities for Visa Direct. The January partnership allowed Visa Direct customers to fund payouts with stablecoins and send payments directly to stablecoin wallets.
Visa’s broader settlement strategy remains active. In April, the company said its stablecoin settlement pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, up 50% from the previous quarter. Visa also expanded the pilot to nine blockchains, including Base, Polygon, Canton, Arc and Tempo.
Partner Strategy Under Pressure
The loss of BVNK could push Visa to deepen relationships with other stablecoin infrastructure providers. However, there is no public confirmation that Visa has formally launched a search for a replacement partner.
Visa already works with several providers. In December, the company partnered with Aquanow to expand stablecoin settlement across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In June, Visa announced a proof of concept with Brale for private stablecoin settlement on the Canton Network.
The company has also explored stablecoin infrastructure through partnerships with other digital-asset firms, giving it several potential routes beyond BVNK.
A Growing Payments Rivalry
Mastercard’s BVNK acquisition highlights the intensifying competition between the two global card networks over stablecoin infrastructure.
Mastercard now controls a company processing billions of dollars in stablecoin payments annually. Visa, mean while, is expanding its own multi-chain settlement network and testing stablecoins across institutional payment flows.
The competition is shifting from simply supporting crypto payments toward controlling the infrastructure that connects stablecoins with traditional financial networks. For Visa, finding or developing equally scalable infrastructure could become an increasingly important strategic priority.
