Visa to Launch First Stablecoin-Linked Flex Credential With NBX

Visa plans to launch the world's first stablecoin-linked Visa Flex credential in Europe alongside Norwegian Block Exchange ¹. Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney disclosed the initiative during the company's fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings call on Nov. 10 ¹.

McInerney stated that issuance of Visa's Flex credentials tripled over the prior year, bolstered by existing relationships and new partnerships with firms including Cash App and Chime ¹. The upcoming deployment with Norwegian Block Exchange, or NBX, will introduce the network's first Flex credential tied directly to stablecoins ¹. Management framed the rollout as part of Visa's broader investments across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and blockchain infrastructure ¹. At the time of writing, digital asset markets showed muted performance, with $USDT trading flat at $0.9989 and $BTC down 1.9% at $73,409.

Payments Network Scale and Blockchain Integration

The stablecoin milestone follows a year of record earnings for the global network ¹. Visa posted fourth-quarter net revenue of $12.1 billion, representing a 13% gain year over year, while full-year net revenue reached a record $46 billion, rising 15% ¹. McInerney characterized the full-year net revenue expansion as the network's fastest in more than 15 years, excluding acquisitions and the post-pandemic recovery period ¹. Total processed transactions rose 9% to 281 billion across the fiscal year ¹.

The payments provider has pursued multiple digital asset touchpoints alongside its traditional issuance, including initiatives like its stablecoin platform for institutional minting and settlement. McInerney reported that Visa credentials totaled 5.2 billion across the globe in 2026, marking a 6% year-over-year rise ¹. Tokenized credentials now account for over 50% of all available credentials on the network, with tokenized transactions taking place in 200 countries and territories for the first time during 2026 ¹.

Visa did not share a specific calendar date for the European launch of the NBX stablecoin card ¹. For fiscal 2027, the network projected low double-digit net revenue growth and low double-digit earnings per share growth while pledging continued capital outlays for payments scale and security infrastructure ¹.