Global payments provider Visa has added five more chains to its stablecoin payments pilot program due to strong demand for on-chain rails.
Newly added services include Circle’s Arc, Coinbase-incubated Base, Canton, Polygon, and Stripe-backed Tempo. In total, Visa currently supports nine blockchains.
In Q1 2026, Visa reported that stablecoin payments reached a run rate of $7 billion, increasing 50% on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. For payment providers, this growth confirms “increasing confidence” in on-chain rails.
Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa, said: noticed The expansion of multi-chain support is aimed at reflecting the different needs of users.
Our partners are building a multi-chain world and expect their options to reflect that reality.
The company noted that stablecoin payments via on-chain rails are becoming a “viable complement” to traditional payment rails. Stablecoins are faster and cheaper than traditional options, which makes them very attractive.
Mastercard and PayPal expand stablecoin plans
In fact, Visa’s rivals are also doubling down on their stablecoin and blockchain strategies. For example, Mastercard acquired stablecoin infrastructure player BVNK to expand its global payments network. The deal was announced in March for more than $1.8 billion.
In the same month, Mastercard Crypto Partner Program The company has partnered with 85 crypto companies, including Binance, to integrate them into its global payments network.
PayPal, another global payments giant, took a completely different approach. Issue your own stablecoin $PYUSDhas started offering yields to users. To strengthen the ecosystem, the company P2P function for $PYUSDBitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies for users.
Fast forward to 2025, PayPal is ‘pay with cryptocurrency” functionality, reducing cross-border fees by 90% amid increasing competition among traditional players.
All other players such as MoneyGram western union, We are also rolling out support for stablecoins and highlighting blockchain as a key differentiator in the modern cross-border remittance space.
It remains to be seen how rivals will compete as stablecoins reduce transfer fees to near zero. Meanwhile, increased adoption has increased the stablecoin market supply to $320 billion.
Final summary
- Driven by the surge in demand and the need for more options, Visa has expanded its stablecoin pilot to nine networks, including Tempo and Arc.
- Global payments competition is intensifying, with rivals such as Mastercard, PayPal and Western Union stepping up their stablecoin strategies.
