The rise of stablecoin cards and how banks and PSPs can monetize

According to the latest Artemis report, stablecoin payments volume has grown +70% from an annual run-rate of $72B in Feb 2025 to $120B in Aug. And stablecoin-linked card payments have emerged as a main payment category with $10B annually. 

The appeal is simple: users want to spend digital dollars in the real world, seamlessly, via Visa or Mastercard rails. 

In fact Visa has made stablecoin card payments a digital asset priority. On its Q3 2025 earnings call, Visa has revealed it now supports 130 stablecoin-linked card issuing programs across more than 40 countries, with spend quadrupling year-over-year and monthly volume surpassing a $2.5 billion annualized run rate as of Q4 FY2025.

As digital-asset adoption accelerates through investment platforms and neobanks, spending stablecoins is becoming a core growth frontier.

So how can banks and payment service providers (PSPs) tap into and monetize this emerging payment rail?

In this Weekly Research, we break down 

• operational pain points of stablecoin card issuers

• unique value propositions banks and modern PSPs can provide

• monetization opportunities for banks and PSPs

  
  

Let’s dive in.

Pain Points Stablecoin Card Issuers Face

As stablecoin card issuers facilitate stablecoin<>fiat payments, maintain account upkeep and offer offramp services, they run into operational bottlenecks that traditional banking infrastructure can solve.

1. Real-time top-up reconciliation and crediting

When users top up (via fiat or stablecoin) their stablecoin card account, those inflows get instantly matched to the correct user wallet/card account on the backend of banks or PSPs. 

This eliminates manual reconciliation and allows instant credit to her DeCard balance.

Without real-time banking connectivity, top-ups take hours to appear, killing user experience.

2. Merchant settlement delays

When a user pays a merchant via Visa, Mastercard, or UnionPay, the card issuer’s partner bank or PSP must convert stablecoins to fiat and deliver funds to the merchant. With real-time APIs (FAST, PayNow, SEPA Instant), settlements can happen within seconds instead of T+1/T+2.

3. Redemption/ off-ramp

When users cash out, the app triggers an API call to the partner bank, which pushes fiat to the user’s account. That requires instant, reliable connectivity between the card issuer and the bank’s treasury rails.

These are the exact friction points that bank-grade virtual accounts and APIs eliminate.

How Banks and PSPs solve them

When a stablecoin card issuer (like DCS Card Centre or Wirex) partners with a bank or indirectly via a PSP, the bank is effectively offering three monetizable layers of infrastructure:

1. Virtual Account Infrastructure 

Unique virtual IBANs or account numbers are assigned to every user and merchant under a master account. Incoming payments are automatically identified and reconciled to the right ledger entry.

2. API Suite 

Real-time endpoints for notifications, balance checks, FX conversion, and payouts replace slow batch files with event-driven automation.

3. Settlement and Treasury Backbone 

The bank (or modern PSP) holds, sweeps, and settles fiat that bridges stablecoin inflows with Visa/Mastercard merchant settlements, providing liquidity and compliance oversight.

Together, these layers create a regulatory-grade bridge between stablecoin liquidity and fiat settlement rails, something card issuers cannot build alone.

How Banks Monetize This Opportunity

Each of those layers can be monetized directly or indirectly.

The Bottom Line

Stablecoin issuers cannot get direct access to central bank payment rails or clearing systems. They rely on licensed intermediaries for:

• Faster Payments / SEPA / ACH access

• Safeguarded client funds

• Settlement and reconciliation infrastructure

  
  

Banks and modern PSPs therefore become the bridges to fiat liquidity, with API-level monetization replacing balance-sheet exposure. As stablecoin card volumes keep compounding, banks can become a critical enabler of that ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.