Stripe rolls out stablecoin cards to 100+ countries by year-end

Stripe to expand stablecoin cards to over 100 countries by the end of the year

Stripe plans to significantly widen the reach of its stablecoin card programs, aiming to make them available in more than 100 countries by the end of the year, according to comments from Stripe’s stablecoin and crypto lead Henri Stern in an Oct. 5 interview with CoinDesk.

The planned rollout highlights how stablecoins—digital tokens typically pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar—are moving beyond trading and cross-border transfers and into familiar payment products such as consumer and business cards. For stablecoins, the practical test is whether they can operate quietly inside tools people already use, rather than remaining confined to crypto-native workflows.

Stern is the former CEO of Privy, a digital asset wallet infrastructure firm that Stripe acquired in 2025. He has since taken on a broader role overseeing stablecoins and crypto across Stripe as the company expands its crypto and payments stack.

Stripe’s current stablecoin card customers include Kraken, Ramp, and the payments app Morse, Stern said. The initiative sits within a broader push to make stablecoin-linked spending and settlement usable at scale, while still navigating the local requirements that govern card issuance and payments in each market.

The distinction between what is live today and what is planned also matters in payments. Stripe’s target refers to expected availability by year-end, not that all markets are already active. In card programs, expansion timelines can depend on local regulation, issuing partners, and compliance processes.

Data cited by CoinDesk suggests the category is growing quickly. Stablecoin card spending reached about $1.2 billion last month, roughly tripling over the past year, according to PaymentScan.

Separately, a Visa and Bridge announcement described an expansion of a card issuance product first unveiled in 2025. Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure platform acquired by Stripe in February 2025, enables businesses and developers to offer stablecoin-backed Visa cards. Visa and Bridge said the cards are now live in 18 countries, with planned expansion to over 100 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by end of year. The companies also said that through Bridge’s partnership with Lead Bank, card transactions can be settled onchain with Visa.

Beyond card expansion, Stern said Stripe is also exploring related areas including tokenized deposits and DeFi use cases, reflecting how payment firms are evaluating blockchain-based settlement and account models alongside existing rails.

• What happened: Stripe said its stablecoin card programs are expected to expand to more than 100 countries by year-end.
• Why it matters: The move signals stablecoins’ shift from crypto-specific uses toward mainstream payment formats like cards.
• Broader context: Stablecoin-linked card spending is growing, and Visa-ecosystem partnerships such as Bridge are working on broader issuance and onchain settlement options.