Nium has launched a stablecoin card issuance platform for businesses, allowing companies to issue Visa and Mastercard cards through a single API.
The product targets businesses that hold stablecoins and want to use those balances for card spending at merchants worldwide. Crypto-to-fiat conversion takes place at the point of sale, enabling purchases through existing card acceptance networks rather than direct wallet transfers.
Nium is positioning the launch around growing regulatory acceptance of stablecoins in the United States, the European Union and parts of the Asia Pacific. About USD $200 billion in stablecoins is now in circulation, it said, creating demand from businesses that already hold digital dollar balances but lack simple ways to use them for routine payments.
Under the model, firms connect to Nium through one API instead of setting up separate arrangements with issuing banks, card networks and compliance providers in multiple markets. Its regulatory licences in more than 40 countries support card issuance and payment services across a broad international footprint.
The platform is designed to support card programmes in days rather than months by handling card network compliance, settlement requirements and conversion processes within a single service layer. It also connects the card offering to Nium's payout network, which covers more than 190 countries, allowing businesses to use stablecoin balances for both card spending and disbursements.
The approach reflects a broader shift in the stablecoin market from transfers between crypto wallets to more conventional commercial uses. For much of the sector's history, stablecoins have been promoted as a way to move money quickly across borders, but their use in mainstream payments has been limited by fragmented infrastructure, banking dependencies and regulatory uncertainty.
Nium's platform is built on its existing card issuing and cross-border payments operations. The company issues more than 38 million card tokens a year for banks, financial technology companies and other businesses, and acts as a principal card issuer on Visa, Mastercard, Discover and UATP.
Market shift
Stablecoins are digital tokens typically pegged to fiat currencies, most often the US dollar. They are widely used in crypto markets as a store of value and means of settlement. Supporters say they can lower costs and speed up the movement of funds, especially across borders, while critics point to regulatory gaps, reserve transparency and the risks of linking digital assets to the broader payments system.
Recent policy moves in major markets have given payment companies more confidence to build products around them. Nium is seeking to use that opening by linking stablecoin balances to the global card infrastructure already used by merchants and consumers.
"Stablecoins have proven they can move money. We are now proving they can power commerce at enterprise scale. Every business we speak to that holds stablecoins wants the same thing: a simple, compliant way to deploy those balances without building the infrastructure themselves. Today, Nium delivers exactly that - on both major payment networks, in every major market, through one integration," said Prajit Nanu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nium.
Businesses using the service can issue stablecoin-funded cards globally, enable settlement in stablecoins where permitted, and reduce the number of fiat conversion steps in their payment flows. The product is designed to work with existing systems rather than replace them, extending stablecoin use into standard card-based purchases.
Existing rails
By relying on Visa and Mastercard, Nium is attempting to address one of the main barriers to spending digital assets in everyday commerce: merchant acceptance. Instead of asking retailers to accept stablecoins directly, the platform converts the value into fiat currency during the transaction, allowing payments to clear on card rails already accepted at hundreds of millions of merchant locations.
The structure also keeps the product within payment frameworks businesses already understand, including established consumer protections, security controls and operational processes. Nium's principal memberships with Visa and Mastercard give customers a path into stablecoin-related card programmes without requiring them to build their own international network of banking and card relationships.
"We are building at the intersection of stablecoins, AI, and programmable money because we believe the next generation of payments will be faster, smarter, and built on digital currencies. Today's launch is the opening move. We want to ensure our customers are positioned for what comes next," said Nanu.