In a bid to expand its reach, Visa has announced a partnership with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm, to establish a comprehensive on-chain payment and banking system. WeFi, co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive, offers a platform that bridges the gap between decentralized finance and traditional regulated payment infrastructure, facilitating cross-border transactions and on-chain value storage. According to Collins, the platform will provide users with virtual bank accounts, complete with IBAN numbers, and will operate under relevant licenses and regulatory frameworks worldwide.
The partnership will initially focus on select markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with plans to expand into additional regions pending regulatory approvals and partnerships. Collins emphasized that the collaboration with Visa will complete the 'last half mile' of on-chain banking infrastructure, while Mathieu Altwegg, Visa's Head of Product & Solutions in Europe, highlighted the partnership's potential to demonstrate the interaction between Visa's global network and on-chain models, all within established regulatory frameworks and reliability standards.