Global payments giant, Visa, has partnered with Tala, a mobile lending service in emerging markets, with a particular focus in Kenya, to bring the USDC stablecoin to the underbanked population.
The companies announced that the idea behind this partnership is to provide easier access to cryptocurrencies for underbanked consumers, beginning with USD Coin (USDC), a stable-coin backed by the U.S. dollar and governed by the Centre Consortium.
Crypto offerings to unbanked consumers
USDC is supported on Ethereum, Algorand, Solana and Stellar blockchains.
Tala has given over US$2 billion in credit to more than 6 million customers across Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya, and India.
Through the integration with Circle and Stellar, Tala’s customers will gain access to USDC in it’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 the mobile lending service customers to spend against their USDC balance at any of the 70 million merchants worldwide accepting Visa.
In December, the credit card giant partnered with Circle to drive USDC integration into Visa’s growing network of digital wallets.
The partnership marks the first significant crypto initiative for Tala, which recently expanded its product suite to provide a fuller scope of financial services to consumers in developing countries.
Also Read: Visa CEO Alfred F Kelly Reveals Plans to Enable Cryptocurrency Trading
This article was first published on the Kenyan Wallstreet
