Stablecoin cards are booming, but who makes money when you swipe?
Stablecoin-linked cards let users spend digital dollars at ordinary merchants, which receive local currency through existing payment networks. Providers such as Bridge, Wirex and Rain earn through payment fees and services including currency conversion and settlement financing. Visa reported more than 160 stablecoin card programs and nearly 200% annual payment-volume growth. Yet card operations still incur processing, compliance, fraud, support and financing costs; stablecoin settlement may reduce some funding expenses, but providers’ terms and savings are often undisclosed. Rewards may depend on subscriptions or token lockups and can exceed interchange revenue. Customer value varies with fees, exchange rates and spending habits, while reported transaction volumes do not show whether users save money or providers are profitable.
