Visa, Circle Team Up With Fintech Firm to Drive Crypto Adoption in Emerging Markets

Fintech startup Tala aims to use the USDC stablecoin to offer new financial tools.

By Jamie Crawley

May 5, 2021 at 2:13 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:51 p.m. UTC

USDC flag — USDC is a dollar-backed stablecoin administered by the Circle- and Coinbase-led CENTRE Consortium.

Jamie Crawley

Visa has partnered with fintech startup Tala to drive crypto adoption for underbanked customers in emerging markets.

The companies will begin by providing access to USD coin (USDC), the stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar, according to an announcement Wednesday.
Collaborating with USDC operator Circle and the Stellar Development Foundation, Tala will provide access to USDC via its digital wallet.
Visa’s involvement will give Tala the ability to issue payment cards linked to the wallet.
Tala is a California-based startup that says it has provided over $2 billion in credit to over 6 million customers in countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, Kenya and India in the form of micro-loans.
The company has raised over $200 million in funding, including a $110 million Series D in August 2019, with PayPal among its backers.
Visa confirmed the partnership when contacted by CoinDesk.

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