Mesh and Visa have announced a payments integration designed to let users spend cryptocurrency and stablecoin balances held in participating wallet applications at more than 175 million merchant locations worldwide, using a Visa payment credential that operates in the background.
The arrangement would allow a wallet user to pay online or at physical stores without first manually moving assets to an exchange, selling tokens, or topping up a separate card balance. Mesh would fund the transaction and manage any required conversion at the point of purchase, while Visa would route the payment through its global merchant network.
The partnership was unveiled on stage at the Money20/20 conference in San Francisco. Mesh Chief Executive Officer Bam Azizi said the product is intended to address the practical difficulty of using token balances for everyday purchases, where users have often needed to take several steps before a merchant can be paid in local currency.
The companies have not disclosed an initial launch date, supported devices, eligible countries, or the wallet platforms that will offer the feature. Those omissions leave the scale of the first rollout unclear, particularly because availability could depend on wallet integrations, card-program requirements, local rules, and the assets supported by Mesh’s funding system.
Conversion happens behind the payment credential
The proposed experience centers on a Visa credential provisioned within a participating wallet app. A customer would use that credential at checkout much as they would use a conventional Visa card stored in a mobile wallet or entered during an online purchase.
Behind the scenes, Mesh would connect to the customer’s crypto or stablecoin balance, determine how to fund the purchase, and complete any needed asset conversion. The merchant would receive payment through Visa’s established network rather than handling cryptocurrency directly.
That distinction is likely to matter for merchants. Stores would not need to add separate blockchain payment infrastructure, manage token price exposure, or settle directly in digital assets. The crypto-related steps would sit between the wallet, Mesh’s infrastructure, and the payment program before the transaction reaches the merchant’s existing checkout flow.
The setup also changes the meaning of “spending crypto” in a practical sense. Users may avoid a separate, advance sale of their holdings, but a conversion can still occur as part of the purchase when a merchant is paid in fiat currency. That model is familiar in card-linked crypto products, though Mesh is positioning its infrastructure as a way to make the process work from wallet-held balances rather than from a pre-funded card account.
Mesh adds another major payments connection
Mesh has become a prominent provider of infrastructure intended to connect digital-asset balances with mainstream payment services. The company supported PayPal’s “Pay with Crypto” product, according to Mesh, placing it within one of the largest consumer payment companies working on crypto checkout tools.
In August 2025, Mesh said funding from PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and other backers pushed its total capital raised above $130 million. The company later reached a valuation above $1 billion following a $75 million Series C financing led by Dragonfly in January, according to Mesh.
The Visa agreement gives Mesh another distribution route for its technology. Its role would be less visible to end users than the wallet app or Visa credential, but it would sit at a sensitive point in the payment chain: deciding how a token balance is accessed and converted quickly enough for a normal checkout transaction.
Speed and reliability will be central to whether the system can compete with existing payment methods. Card transactions are expected to be approved within seconds, while blockchain transfers can face variable confirmation times, network fees, and differences between assets. Mesh’s model seeks to shield the merchant and customer from those mechanics by handling funding and conversion within the payment flow.
Visa expands stablecoin and wallet-payment initiatives
The partnership follows several recent Visa projects focused on connecting digital assets with its merchant network. In April, Visa and WeFi said they planned to enable spending from self-custody crypto wallets while allowing users to retain control over their assets before a payment was made.
Visa also partnered with stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge last year on a program intended to help developers issue Visa cards backed by stablecoin balances. Bridge was expected to manage backend processing and currency conversion for that product.
These programs place Visa in the role of payments network rather than crypto custodian or exchange. The company provides the acceptance layer, while wallet providers and infrastructure partners handle the more specialized tasks of holding assets, authorizing access, converting value, and complying with the requirements of each payment program.
Visa processed $14.2 trillion in total volume during its 2025 fiscal year, according to the company’s annual results. Even a narrowly available crypto-wallet integration would therefore gain access to a merchant footprint that is far larger than most dedicated crypto-payment networks.
For wallet providers, the Mesh integration could offer a way to add payment functionality without building a card-funding and conversion stack internally. For users, the eventual appeal will depend on details that have yet to be published, including supported stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, conversion rates, transaction fees, daily spending limits, and whether tax reporting obligations arise when assets are converted during purchases.
The agreement extends the competition to make wallet-held digital assets usable at ordinary checkouts, but its commercial test will come with the first participating apps and the terms they offer customers.
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