Visa has announced a partnership with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive. The partnership seeks to bridge the gap in on-chain banking services by establishing a robust payment infrastructure.
WeFi's platform is designed to facilitate seamless interactions between decentralized finance and traditional regulated payment systems, supporting use cases such as cross-border transactions and on-chain value storage. According to Collins, the platform will offer users bank account-like services, complete with IBAN numbers, and will operate under various licenses worldwide. As the platform expands, it plans to collaborate with more banks and institutions, targeting underserved markets. The rollout will be phased, starting with select markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with further expansion dependent on local regulatory approvals and partnerships.
Collins noted that the partnership with Visa completes the on-chain banking infrastructure, while Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Product & Solutions in Europe at Visa, highlighted the collaboration as a demonstration of Visa's global network interacting with on-chain models within established regulatory frameworks.