When MiniPay launched in 2023, it had a simple pitch: help users access and move stablecoins cheaply.
Three years later, the Opera-backed stablecoin app has a new priority: making those stablecoin balances more useful.
On Tuesday, the company launched a Visa debit card in partnership with payments giant Visa and Gnosis Pay, the stablecoin payments platform developed by blockchain company Gnosis, allowing users in emerging markets and Africa—where it operates in major markets such as Nigeria and Kenya—to spend stablecoin balances anywhere Visa is accepted.
The move signals how the stablecoin market is evolving. After years spent helping users acquire, hold, and transfer digital currencies, companies are now focusing on making those balances spendable in everyday commerce. For MiniPay, the card is an attempt to move beyond being a wallet and become part of how users pay.
“The clearest signal is user demand. A card has been one of the most consistent requests from MiniPay users because it solves a problem that local payment options alone cannot fully solve,” a MiniPay spokesperson told TechCabal.
