Nuvei Launches Stablecoin Payment Settlement For Latin American Merchants

According to Cointelegraph, Canadian fintech company Nuvei has introduced a new payment settlement solution using stablecoins for merchants in Latin America. This initiative is supported by partnerships with interoperability platform Rain, digital custodian BitGo, and card issuer Visa, forming a blockchain-based payment system. Latin American merchants participating in this solution can utilize either a physical or virtual Visa card to conduct payments in stablecoin directly from a digital wallet. BitGo is responsible for providing digital asset custody services. The service is designed to be accessible wherever Visa is accepted, offering faster cross-border transactions, reduced complexity, and enhanced operational liquidity compared to traditional payment methods. The introduction of this solution marks what Nuvei describes as its expansion into blockchain payments, although the company had previously launched transactions in nearly 40 cryptocurrencies back in 2021. Visa has also been active in the cryptocurrency space, having launched a cryptocurrency card for consumers linked to self-custody wallets in Latin America in collaboration with the Avalanche Foundation in October. Nuvei and Visa have a history of collaboration, including previous projects where Nuvei and Worldpay integrated with Visa to facilitate payments using Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) on the Solana and Ethereum blockchains. While USDC was mentioned as an example of a stablecoin that could be used in the new solution, it is already integrated into the real-time payment systems of Brazil and Mexico. Nuvei has been rapidly expanding its presence in the Latin American region. In 2024, the company implemented local acquiring services in Colombia and Mexico, which involves using an in-country financial institution to process card payments. Additionally, Nuvei received a Payment Institution license in Brazil, further solidifying its foothold in the region. In other regions, Mastercard has also been active in the digital asset space. In July, Nuvei partnered with Mastercard to offer European consumers an off-ramp for digital assets through Mastercard’s Move. Mastercard piloted a commercial Move solution with blockchain payment firm Fnality. Furthermore, in 2023, Mastercard collaborated with Australian stablecoin platform Stables to enable consumers in the Asia-Pacific region to spend USDC wherever the card is accepted. Stables provided the wallet services and settlement engine for this initiative, allowing deposits in various stablecoins to be automatically converted into USDC.