The Future of Stablecoins According to Visa
At the Visa Acceptance Forum 2026, Visa presented its vision of the stablecoin market: the future will be hybrid. Not a speculative object, nor a sudden break with existing networks: traditional finance and on-chain finance will coexist, and value will be created by the players capable of orchestrating the flows between these two worlds.
This is the purpose of the initiatives presented:
- the use of stablecoin balances via cards,
- stablecoin settlement between payment providers,
- the extension of Visa Direct to on-chain wallets,
- and more broadly, the ability to manage the complexity between multiple currencies, multiple stablecoins and multiple blockchains.
In other words, Visa is validating a simple idea: the use of stablecoins is diversifying.
A clear market need: connecting usable FIAT and EMT
The European market is entering a new phase. While stablecoins are still largely dominated by trading and arbitrage uses, a new underlying dynamic is developing: their use for utilitarian purposes, such as B2B settlement, cash management, and the automation of financial flows.
In this context, companies need:
- of seamless access to a credible EMT,
- of a partner capable of managing the FIAT layer,
- of a compliant framework for on-ramp and off-ramp,
- of a simple integration into their career paths.
But how can we enable clients, platforms, or partners to properly access usable EMTs within a compliant and scalable framework?
Access to stablecoins: the real issue
The answer to the question “Should you issue your own EMT?” is not necessarily yes. Issuing a token is a complex, costly, and demanding project from a prudential, technical, and operational standpoint. It’s not a matter to be taken lightly, nor should it be artificially accelerated.
This is also Visa’s vision: in the current market phase, value lies not primarily in token issuance, but in the ability to make EMTs truly accessible and usable within compliant payment flows.
The first step, therefore, is to operate FIAT → EMT gateways to already established EMTs, relying on strong partners. This approach allows us to:
- Rapidly address a concrete need,
- Limit initial complexity,
- Learn the market operationally,
- Build an immediately understandable value proposition,
- and to position itself where demand is already being created.
Visa’s vision aligned with CentralPay’s approach
The Visa Acceptance Forum reinforces a very operational conviction: connecting on-chain assets to real-world journeys, existing payment methods, settlement flows, and concrete economic uses takes precedence over token issuance.
This is precisely the purpose of the offer we are developing at CentralPay. Our priority is to offer a simple, compliant, and ready-to-integrate FIAT ↔ stablecoin rail, enabling European CASPs and Web3 platforms to outsource their FIAT layer, secure their on-ramp and off-ramp journeys, and convert euro flows to EURC and USDC, supported by Circle‘s expertise, within a framework aligned with MiCA.
Like Visa, we believe in the potential of euro EMTs and their future role in the programmable economy. So, for those looking to structure their euro-to-stablecoin flows now within a secure and scalable framework:
