Visa has announced a collaboration with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure provider, to establish a comprehensive on-chain payment and banking system. WeFi, co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive, positions its platform as a bridge 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 aims to expand its reach by partnering with banks and institutions, focusing on underbanked regions. The rollout will commence in select European, Asian, and Latin American markets, with further expansion contingent upon local regulatory approvals and partnerships.
Collins notes that the partnership with Visa completes the on-chain banking infrastructure, while Mathieu Altwegg, Visa's Head of Product & Solutions in Europe, highlights the collaboration as a demonstration of Visa's global network interacting with on-chain models within established regulatory frameworks.