Visa bets on Stablecoins, AI and Super App Partnerships to Dominate Asia’s Rapidly Evolving payments Landscape
SINGAPORE – Visa is actively integrating stablecoinsโข and artificial intelligence โinto its payment infrastructure while forging partnerships with “super apps” to maintainโฃ its leading position in the Asia-Pacific region, according to โฃStephen Karpin, Visa’s Asia-Pacific president. The moves come as Asia’s โpayments spaceโฃ undergoes a period of unprecedented change, โคwith more โขdisruption โoccurring in the last five years than โin the previous fifty, Karpin stated.
Visa has launchedโ a stable settlement pilot program โคenabling โขselect โคpartners to utilize stablecoins – digital currenciesโฃ pegged to less volatile assets likeโ the U.S. dollar – across โฃsupported blockchains. “We want โคto makeโฃ [stablecoins] oneโ of the optionsโฃ to make and receive payments all โคaround the world, when the regulatory environment is ready,” Karpin said.He added โthat Visa possesses the “technologyโ and capability” to assist businesses of all sizes in embracing Web3 commerce. The company recognized the potential โฃof blockchain technology for payments a decade ago and is now seeing a surge in cross-border transactions conductedโ via stablecoins.
The shift in the Asian payments landscape is largely driven by the rise โof super apps – โขsingleโ platforms consolidating services like ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payments.These โfirst gained โฃtraction โฃin mainlandโ China with the launch of Alipay inโค 2004 and wechat Pay in 2013, followed by GrabPay in Southeast Asia in โ2016.
Rather than viewing these apps as โคcompetition, Visa is activelyโค seeking collaboration. “You can live your life on a super app now, so we’re partnering with them to digitalize โthe visa credential,” Karpin โคexplained. A โprime example is Visa’s partnership โwith Taiwan’s Line Pay, allowing โขTaiwanese users to โคmake payments abroad by scanning QR codesโค connected to the Visa network.
Visa’s global acceptance network also provides a crucial advantage. “When traveling further abroad, you can’t use a super app โwith a QR. โWe’re partnering with e-wallets so โคyou can use your โฃphone โคto tap to get โonto the New York subway, or buyโฃ lunch in London,” Karpin said.
While surpassed โขbyโ China’s UnionPay inโ 2015 in terms of โannual card paymentโค value and number of issued cards, Visa remains theโ world’s second-largest card payment organizationโ and currently leads โin global โฃtransaction volume. The company ranks No. 127 on the Fortune 500 list. Karpin has been with Visa for over a decade, gaining experience in the South Pacific, southeast Asia, and Japan beforeโฃ assuming his current role in 2023.