VISA and Mastercard Downplay Stablecoin Competition Amid Market Changes
Stablecoin Impact on VISA and Mastercard
Executives from VISA and Mastercard stated that stablecoins pose no immediate threat to their market dominance during a recent earnings call. They noted:
- Crypto usage is minimal compared to the $15 trillion processed annually on Visa’s network.
- Stablecoins are primarily used in countries with unstable fiat systems.
Despite strong earnings, both companies face pressure to reduce credit card transaction fees. In the last fiscal year, they collected approximately $95 billion in swipe fees, although their average processing fees are declining:
- Visa's fee per transaction decreased to 6.6 cents from nearly 9 cents a decade ago.
- Mastercard's fee averaged 7.3 cents, down from nearly 8 cents the previous year.
In contrast, stablecoin transaction volumes have surged, surpassing Visa's in Q1 2025 with over $6 trillion processed, nearly double Visa's volume.
📊 UPDATE: Stablecoin transaction volume surpasses Visa's in Q1 2025, nearly doubled Visa’s volume with over $6T, per Bitwise data. pic.twitter.com/Af2PZu8r5m
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 30, 2025
VISA's Stablecoin Partnerships
VISA continues to strengthen its position in the stablecoin market by:
- Adding support for two new USD-backed stablecoins: Global Dollar (USDG) and PayPal USD (PYUSD) through a partnership with Paxos.
- Expanding blockchain integrations to include Stellar and Avalanche, alongside Ethereum and Solana.
- Supporting Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin, EURC.
VISA has facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoin payments, enhancing its on-chain settlement infrastructure with these partnerships.