Visa has announced a collaboration with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm, to create a comprehensive on-chain payment and banking system. WeFi, co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive, describes its platform as a bridge between decentralized finance and traditional payment systems, supporting use cases such as cross-border transactions and on-chain value storage. According to Collins, the platform will provide users with bank account-like services, including IBAN numbers, and will obtain necessary licenses to operate globally.
The partnership aims to expand to underbanked regions, starting with select markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with further expansion dependent on local regulations 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, highlighted the collaboration as an example of how Visa's network interacts with on-chain models within established regulatory frameworks.