Wirex introduces on-chain payments on Stellar directly via cards with USDC and EURCin collaboration with Visa.
How does Wirex’s dual stablecoin rollout work with Stellar and Visa?
On November 18, 2025a global digital payments company Wirex revealed that live dual stablecoin settlement using USDC and EURC on the Stellar blockchain is now in production. The initiative, developed in collaboration with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF)enables on-chain settlement of Visa card payments in both dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoins.
According to the company, this marks an important milestone for blockchain-powered financing. Furthermore, it shows how stablecoins can support mainstream payment flows while integrating with existing card networks such as Visa.
What does this mean for the settlement of Visa card payments?
Due to Wirex’s premier membership with Visa, the company can now fulfill its settlement obligations in USDC and EURC directly on Stellar. That means there is no need for intermediary banks or existing fiat clearing systems in the settlement part of the transaction.
Cuy Sheffield, VP and Head of Crypto at Visa, said the card giant is working with innovators like Wirex to test how stablecoins and blockchains can improve payments. According to him, the use of USDC and EURC on Stellar shows how on-chain processes can bring more speed, transparency and programmability to digital transactions.
Denelle Dixon, CEO and executive director of the Stellar Development Foundation, added that the future of finance is “onchain.” She emphasized that Wirex going live with dual stablecoin settlement on Stellar is an important step for the true stablecoin business, especially for compliant cross-border transfers.
What are the concrete benefits for users and partners?
The companies outlined several direct consequences for end users and business partners. Firstly, USDC and EURC settlements are now live and fully operational on the Stellar network, allowing card payment settlement directly in stablecoins with Visa via Wirex.
Second, users and business customers can benefit from lower costs, faster processing times and 24/7 availability. However, the most strategic benefit may be that the settlement infrastructure now spans both USD and EUR, supporting global and regional use cases in a unified framework.
The rollout is made possible by Wirex Paythe company’s on-chain stablecoin infrastructure for real-time card and bank payments sent directly from self-managed wallets. By combining blockchain efficiency with stablecoin programmability, Wirex aims to deliver borderless, instant financial services built for the Web3 economy.
How does Wirex position itself in stablecoin-native finance?
Wirex describes itself as a global digital payments platform that bridges the gap between traditional and digital currencies. As one of the top Visa members and an early pioneer of crypto cards, the company now serves more than just that 7 million customers in 130 countries.
Today, it is making further inroads into the stablecoin-native infrastructure. That strategy includes real-time settlement, self-custodial wallets and blockchain-powered banking experiences.
Why is the Stellar network suitable for this settlement model?
The Stellar Network is designed as a decentralized, fast and scalable blockchain for financial products and services. It offers smart contract capabilities and a protocol optimized specifically for payments, with low fees and transaction speeds that can scale as usage grows.
Financial institutions and fintech innovators worldwide are already issuing assets and settling payments on Stellar. Since its launch, the network has processed billions of operations on millions of accounts. For a technical overview of the underlying protocol, users can consult the official Stellar dashboard.
How does this compare to traditional bench rails?
Unlike conventional correspondent banking, which often operates on office hours and regional clearing cycles, this new settlement model runs continuously on-chain. As a result, it provides near-instant finality and transparent tracking of settlement flows.
Furthermore, the approach is in line with a broader industry movement towards programmable money. For analysis of stablecoin adoption in global payments, data from sources such as GENIUS Act research on EURC settlements highlights the growing role of tokenized fiat in cross-border use cases.
In summary, the live deployment of dual-stablecoin settlement on Stellar positions Wirex, Visa and the Stellar Development Foundation at the forefront of on-chain payments, while the Wirex Stellar settlement structure could become a blueprint for future stablecoin-based card ecosystems.