Visa is currently shopping for a new stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter (OTC) partner. While the move appears to be a routine vendor swap, it functions as a strategic decoupling. According to CoinDesk, which reviewed the request for proposal (RFP) issued on August 18, 2026, the payment giant is looking to fill a void left by the departure of BVNK. PYMNTS corroborated the report the same day. The timing is not coincidental: Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK on August 3, 2026, in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion, effectively pulling the rug out from under Visa’s existing infrastructure.
The relationship between Visa and BVNK was once closely aligned. Visa took a strategic stake in the firm in May 2025 at a roughly $750 million valuation and entered a partnership in January 2026 to enable stablecoin payments on Visa Direct. When Mastercard announced its definitive agreement to acquire the firm on March 17, 2026, it signaled the end of that collaboration. Mastercard’s goal is clear: integrate BVNK’s on-chain infrastructure into Mastercard Move, its cross-border and remittance network, to facilitate 24/7 stablecoin settlement. For Visa, this acquisition forced a sudden rebuild phase while its rival moves to consolidate its own backend.
The RFP requirements reveal just how narrow the field of potential candidates is. Visa is demanding a partner that holds cryptocurrency-exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Singapore. Given the regulatory complexity of maintaining such a footprint, the list of qualified, crypto-native firms is likely quite small. Beyond the licensing hurdle, the partner must be capable of swapping and supporting a range of stablecoins, ensuring that Visa’s broader ambitions remain unhindered by the loss of its previous backend.
The most telling detail in the RFP is the requirement to handle settlement for the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin project. This is not just a technical specification; it is the non-negotiable foundation of Visa’s stablecoin strategy. OUSD is a massive, multi-stablecoin platform backed by a consortium of over 140 firms, including heavyweights like BlackRock, Coinbase, American Express, Google, IBM, and Ripple. With plans to support multiple stablecoins and a target launch in the second half of 2026 on Solana, the project promises zero-fee minting and redeeming, with yield flowing directly to distribution partners.
Visa’s current stablecoin stack remains operational, but it is effectively running on borrowed time. The Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), launched in July 2026, uses OUSD as its initial supported token. Furthermore, Visa integrated stablecoin capabilities into Visa Direct via Zero Hash on August 5, 2026, reaching 18 billion endpoints across 195 countries. While these systems are live, they depend entirely on finding a new, reliable settlement backend that can satisfy the OUSD consortium’s rigorous standards.
The divergence in strategy between the two payment giants is stark. As they race to capture the $300 billion stablecoin market, as reported by CoinGecko, their paths have split. Mastercard has opted for vertical integration, buying its way into the infrastructure layer. Visa, conversely, is doubling down on its consortium-led approach, betting that the collective weight of the OUSD project will provide a more scalable, albeit more complex, path forward.
Visa has declined to comment on the RFP, leaving the market to speculate on which firm will step into the role. The search for a new partner is a rigorous vetting process for a firm capable of managing the OUSD load while operating within the constraints of a consortium that includes Visa’s fiercest competitors. If Visa fails to secure a partner that meets these stringent requirements, the momentum it has built with VSP and Visa Direct could stall. The success of this search will determine whether Visa’s bet on a collaborative, multi-firm infrastructure can outpace Mastercard’s consolidated, proprietary model.