Visa has announced a partnership with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure company, to establish a comprehensive on-chain payment and banking system. WeFi, co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive, provides an integration layer between decentralized finance and traditional payment infrastructure, facilitating 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 obtain necessary licenses to operate globally.
The partnership plans to expand regionally, starting with Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and will collaborate with additional banks and institutions to cater to the underbanked population. The rollout will be contingent upon local regulatory approvals and partnerships.
Collins emphasized that the partnership with Visa completes the on-chain banking infrastructure, while Mathieu Altwegg, Visa's Head of Product & Solutions in Europe, noted that the collaboration demonstrates how Visa's global network interacts with on-chain models within established regulatory frameworks.