Visa is working with personal finance app Tala to help underbanked populations participate in the crypto economy.
Visa in March became the first major payments network to settle transactions in USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin backed by the US dollar.
Tala’s partnership with the card scheme will enable the firm to offer payment cards linked to its digital wallet, giving customers a way to spend against their USDC balance at any of the 70 million merchants worldwide that accept Visa.
Santa Monica-based tala Tala has delivered more than $2 billion in credit to more than six million customers across Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya, and India.
The crypto integration effort, conducted in partnership with Circle and the Stellar Development Foundation, is intended to enable secure and stable storage of money, fast and affordable cross-border money transfers, and easy exchange into other digital assets or local fiat.
Shivani Siroya, Tala’s CEO and founder, says: “Digital currencies have tremendous potential to radically open financial access and put more control directly into the hands of underbanked and underestimated people. We couldn’t be more excited that Visa, Circle, and the Stellar Development Foundation share our vision and want to work on a solution, not only for Tala’s six million global customers but for the billions more who can benefit.”