Visa Partners with WeFi for On-Chain Banking Services

Visa and WeFi are working together to explore the potential of 'on-chain banking' services, which would enable users to spend self-custodied stablecoins at any merchant accepting Visa payments. The pilot program is an extension of Visa's existing stablecoin settlement program, which has seen significant growth in recent months.

WeFi describes itself as an 'orchestration layer' between DeFi and regulated payment infrastructure, aiming to connect decentralized assets to Visa's global acceptance network. The platform uses a 'de-banking' approach, allowing users to hold their assets in self-custody or hybrid setups while still accessing regulated payment rails.

The collaboration is focused on developing use cases that combine the benefits of DeFi and traditional banking, such as cross-border spending, on-chain value storage, and everyday card payments funded by stablecoins. The rollout will proceed region by region, starting with selected countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, subject to local regulatory approvals and issuing partnerships.