Rain, a US-based stablecoin payments and card-issuing platform, has become a Visa Principal Member, a status typically reserved for banks and large regulated payment institutions. As a principal member, Rain can issue Visa cards and connect directly to Visa’s network without relying on a sponsoring bank, and it is participating in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, settling card flows in USDC instead of traditional correspondent banking rails. Rain positions itself as backend infrastructure for fintechs, wallets, and corporates to launch stablecoin-linked card programs via a single API, handling card issuing, compliance, and settlement while allowing end users to spend self-custodied stablecoins through the existing Visa merchant network. Rain has fully tokenized its credit card receivables and migrated settlement for its Visa cards to USDC, enabling daily, 24/7/365 settlement with Visa and reducing the need for pre-funded accounts and working capital buffers. This model effectively turns Rain into a stablecoin settlement layer for card programs, giving fintechs the ability to build global card products with onchain collateral, while still tapping more than 150 million Visa-accepting merchants worldwide. The move matters because it is a concrete example of onchain assets integrating directly with major card networks, not just through partner banks but via a crypto-native platform with principal membership status. By combining tokenized receivables, USDC settlement, and direct network access, Rain provides a template for how future card issuers and fintechs might bypass traditional banking intermediaries for settlement, potentially lowering costs, shortening settlement times, and expanding stablecoin use in everyday payments and cross-border transactions.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

Explore the topic

Loading related coverage…

Explore the full feed

Comments

Loading comments…