Visa teams up with WeFi to bring digital-asset payments to its global network
Visa is partnering with WeFi, the onchain banking company founded by Reef Collins, a Tether co-founder and its former CEO, to explore how digital assets can be used for everyday payments on Visa's network.
Collins said WeFi is built around self-custody, allowing users to hold cryptocurrencies in their own wallets rather than keeping funds on centralized exchanges. The model lets users control their private keys while still being able to pay "anywhere Visa is accepted," he told The Block.
The companies said early work will focus on integrating WeFi's onchain banking infrastructure with Visa's network to enable stablecoin-based payments in "specific markets." Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Products and Solutions at Visa Europe, said Visa aims to connect emerging onchain models with payment experiences consumers already trust, and to make them viable at scale.
The tie-up adds to a broader wave of collaborations between traditional payment networks and crypto firms—including exchanges and wallet providers—designed to help holders spend their assets. Last month, Visa and Mastercard, via Stripe's stablecoin company Bridge, said they plan to expand stablecoin-related card programs to more than 100 countries.
Collins said users often treat cryptocurrencies as savings or investments, while stablecoins behave more like checking accounts. His LinkedIn profile notes he co-founded Tether and served as CEO until 2015; Tether issues USDT, the world's largest stablecoin.
Maksym Sakharov, WeFi co-founder and CEO, told The Block that many stablecoin integrations treat the token as a funding source that converts only when needed. WeFi's approach embeds stablecoins directly into the infrastructure as part of a unified balance, with conversions and settlement handled in the background, aiming to make the checkout experience feel the same as other payment methods.
Visa and WeFi said the rollout will be phased by region, starting with selected markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, before expanding further based on regulatory approvals and partnerships.
