Visa and Mesh Let Users Spend Crypto at 175M Merchants

Visa and payments network Mesh have agreed a partnership that will let consumers spend crypto and stablecoins straight from digital wallets at merchants on the Visa network. Mesh announced it on Monday, Oct. 19. No separate card is needed.

What happened

According to Cointelegraph, users of participating wallets will be able to pay in stores and online without moving money to a bank account. Visa's network covers more than 175 million merchant locations in over 200 countries and territories. Merchants will receive payment through Visa's existing infrastructure without changes to their checkout systems.

Mesh did not say which crypto wallets will join, on which devices or when. The company promises to announce those details once the rollout plan is final.

How the roles split in a payment

Mesh takes on transaction funding and conversion between cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and fiat currencies. Visa payment credentials will be issued through the apps of participating wallets.

• Mesh funds the transaction and converts the asset to fiat.
• Mesh handles customer onboarding and KYC checks.
• The participating wallet receives Visa payment credentials.
• Visa runs the payment on its network, and the merchant changes nothing.

Mesh's earlier steps

In September Mesh integrated with Bybit Pay. That let Bybit users spend directly from their exchange balances on supported platforms. In January the company raised $75 million in a round led by Dragonfly, which valued it at $1 billion.

The same week Mastercard introduced a Stablecoin Security tool that screens payments for fraud and sanctions risk. Coinbase, according to The Block, will power stablecoin-backed cards for Marqeta customers.

What is known about the launch

The partners named neither a timeline nor a list of supported assets. Mesh and Visa have so far announced only the agreement. Details will follow once the rollout has an approved plan.