Visa Partners With Fintech Startup Tala To Drive Crypto Adoption In Emerging Markets

Today, Visa V announced a new partnership with Tala, a digital financial services provider in emerging markets, the goal of which is to provide easier access to cryptocurrencies for underbanked consumers, beginning with USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar and governed by the Centre Consortium.

USDC is supported on Ethereum, Algorand, Solana and Stellar blockchains. The collaboration will also involve Circle, one of the Centre’s founding members, and the Stellar Development Foundation that oversees the XLM cryptocurrency.

Through the integration with Circle and Stellar, Tala’s customers will gain access to USDC in Tala’s digital wallet, supporting asset storage, cross-border transfer, and crypto-fiat exchange functionalities.

The partnership with Visa will provide Tala with the ability to issue Visa cards linked to the wallet, enabling Tala’s customers to spend against their USDC balance at any of the 70 million merchants worldwide that accept Visa.

Tala is a California-based startup that says it has provided over $2 billion in credit to over 6 million customers in countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya and India in the form of micro-loans.

The company has raised over $200 million in funding, including a $110 million Series D in August 2019, with PayPal among its backers.