Wirex Taps Visa Direct to Take Stablecoin Payouts to 3 Billion Cards

LONDON, UK – February 18, 2026 – Crypto and payments platform Wirex today announced a significant move to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional finance, launching a "Stablecoin Push-to-Card" service powered by Visa Direct. The new feature, delivered through Wirex's Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering, enables businesses to send stablecoin-funded payouts directly to eligible cards across the globe, aiming to solve the persistent 'last mile' problem for cryptocurrency utility.

The service promises near-instantaneous fund delivery to a network of over three billion cards in more than 200 countries and territories. This development is poised to streamline global disbursements for companies managing international payroll, freelance contractor payments, and supplier settlements, replacing cumbersome traditional banking processes with a simplified, card-first approach.

Closing the 'Last Mile' for Stablecoin Utility

While stablecoins have proven effective at moving value across borders quickly and cheaply, the process of converting those digital assets into spendable local currency has remained a significant friction point. This 'last mile'—the final step of getting funds into a recipient's hands—is often where the user experience breaks down due to complex off-ramping procedures, network fragmentation, and operational hurdles.

Wirex's solution directly confronts this challenge. By integrating with Visa Direct, it allows partner businesses to convert a stablecoin balance into a fiat currency payout that lands directly on a recipient's existing debit or credit card. The process for the sender is simplified to an API call, requiring only the recipient's 16-digit card number, the amount, and the currency.

"Stablecoins are great at moving value globally, but the last mile is still where payout experiences break down — on usability, coverage, and operational complexity," said Pavel Matveev, Co-founder of Wirex, in the company's announcement. "Stablecoin Push-to-Card powered by Visa Direct closes that gap by turning stablecoin-funded balances into card payouts. Delivered through Wirex BaaS, it gives partners an embedded capability they can integrate via API to support real-time disbursements to eligible cards worldwide."

This approach eliminates the need for recipients to have a crypto wallet or navigate a cryptocurrency exchange. Instead, they receive funds through a familiar "paid to card" experience, with money often available in under 30 seconds, 24/7, including on weekends and holidays.

The Power of a Global Payment Network

The backbone of this new service is Visa Direct, Visa's real-time push payments platform. This partnership provides Wirex with access to a vast and established global payment infrastructure. Visa Direct reaches an estimated 11 billion endpoints worldwide, including cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets, and has been a key part of Visa's strategy to expand beyond traditional card payments into global money movement.

Visa has been actively forging partnerships within the fintech and crypto space to bridge the two worlds. Collaborations with companies like Coinbase, Transak, and Circle have demonstrated a clear strategy to facilitate easier on-ramps and off-ramps between fiat and digital currencies. The Wirex integration is a logical extension of this strategy, focusing specifically on the B2B payout use case and leveraging the global ubiquity of Visa cards as the final delivery point.

By using this infrastructure, Wirex's BaaS clients can bypass the need to build and maintain a complex, country-by-country patchwork of local payment rails, integrations, and compliance protocols. Instead, they can rely on a single, unified API to access a global payout network, significantly reducing operational overhead and accelerating their ability to scale international payments.

Reshaping Global Business Payments

The launch comes at a time of surging demand for more efficient cross-border payment solutions. The rise of the remote workforce, the expansion of the gig economy, and the increasing complexity of global supply chains have exposed the limitations of traditional wire transfers, which are often slow, expensive, and opaque.

Stablecoins have emerged as a powerful alternative, offering near-instant settlement and significantly lower transaction costs. Businesses can potentially save up to 80% on foreign exchange fees compared to traditional methods. Wirex's service is aimed squarely at businesses looking to capitalize on these benefits, including:

• Global Payroll and Contractor Payments: Companies can pay remote employees and freelancers worldwide almost instantly, improving satisfaction and retention.
• Supplier Settlements: Vendor payments can be accelerated, improving cash flow for both the payer and the payee and strengthening supply chain relationships.
• Employee Reimbursements: Expense reimbursements for globally distributed teams can be delivered without the delays associated with traditional banking systems.

By embedding these capabilities into a BaaS platform, Wirex is targeting not just crypto-native companies but also traditional enterprises and fintechs that want to modernize their payment infrastructure without building it from scratch.

Navigating a Competitive and Evolving Landscape

Wirex enters a dynamic and growing market for stablecoin-based payment solutions. A number of platforms, including Rise, Crossmint, and others, are already offering services for global payroll and B2B payments using stablecoins. However, Wirex's key differentiator is its deep integration with the card network via Visa Direct, offering a direct-to-card off-ramp that simplifies the experience for the end recipient.

This launch also occurs as the regulatory landscape for stablecoins begins to solidify, providing greater clarity for institutional adoption. The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which came into full effect for stablecoins in 2024, has established a comprehensive framework for their issuance and use. Similarly, the UK and US are actively developing their own regulatory regimes, which are expected to bring further legitimacy and safety to the sector.

This increasing regulatory clarity is crucial for attracting mainstream businesses that require compliance and legal certainty. By building on top of established and regulated payment rails like Visa's, services like Wirex's Stablecoin Push-to-Card are better positioned to meet the stringent requirements of corporate clients.

By combining the efficiency of stablecoins with the unparalleled reach of the Visa network, this new offering represents a tangible step forward in making digital assets a practical tool for everyday global commerce. The service is now available to clients through Wirex's BaaS APIs, marking a new chapter in the evolution of corporate payments.