Visa has announced a collaboration with WeFi, a blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm, to establish a comprehensive on-chain payment and banking network. WeFi, co-founded by Reeve Collins, a former Tether executive, is designed to bridge the gap between decentralized finance and traditional payment systems.
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 with Visa is expected to facilitate the rollout of this service, initially in select European, Asian, and Latin American markets, with plans to expand to other regions pending regulatory approvals. The collaboration aims to bring secure and reliable on-chain banking services to underbanked populations. Mathieu Altwegg, Visa's Head of Product & Solutions in Europe, noted that this partnership demonstrates the potential for Visa's global network to interact with on-chain models while maintaining regulatory compliance and reliability.