Visa study: Stablecoin interest jumps to 56% with safeguards

Visa has found that U.S. consumer interest in stablecoins rose from 36% to 56% when survey respondents were presented with hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.

Visa’s Money Travels 2026 report, released on Sept. 23, examined how consumers view stablecoins, remittances and payment security. Morning Consult conducted the research for Visa between Feb. 24 and March 2, surveying 2,192 U.S. adults and 45,445 respondents across 20 markets globally.

The 56% figure describes stated willingness under a hypothetical set of protections, not current stablecoin use or an observed adoption rate. Visa said respondents received definitions of stablecoins before answering questions, while the survey relied on self-reported responses.

Visa stablecoin adoption intent rises with added protections

Without the hypothetical safeguards, 36% of U.S. respondents said they would consider using stablecoins. That figure increased to 45% when the payment method was offered through an existing financial provider, according to Visa. Adding bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance pushed stated interest to 56%.

Provider identity ranked ahead of the technology itself for many respondents. Visa found that 64% of Americans said their trust in a payment method depended more on the company offering it. Traditional commercial banks received a 61% trust reading for digital currency services, while global payment networks received 60%.

Stablecoin familiarity remained limited despite growing use of the assets in payment infrastructure. More than half of U.S. respondents, or 56%, said they had never heard of stablecoins before the survey. Visa said some consumers who were familiar with them incorrectly assumed stablecoins move in price like Bitcoin.

Across all 20 markets, 69% of respondents said trust in a new method of moving money depended more on its provider than the underlying technology. The report found that 45% of U.S. respondents would accept a 24-hour transfer delay if it provided stronger fraud protection.

Deposit insurance in the Visa survey remains hypothetical

Visa specifically warned that the protection scenario should not be read as describing current U.S. stablecoin coverage. Its methodology note states that stablecoins are not presently covered by deposit insurance such as FDIC protection.

Federal regulators are still implementing the GENIUS Act framework. An FDIC proposal published in April would establish reserve, capital, redemption and risk-management requirements for payment stablecoin issuers under its supervision. The proposal says deposits held as stablecoin reserves would not receive pass-through insurance for payment stablecoin holders.

Federal Reserve staff made the distinction again in a Sept. 4 research note. The note said payment stablecoins must carry 1:1 reserve backing under the GENIUS Act, while the law does not make the stablecoins themselves federally insured deposits.

The regulatory framework is still moving through implementation. The OCC’s 2026 proposal covers reserve composition, liquidity, capital, redemption and oversight requirements, while a separate interagency proposal addresses customer identification requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers.

Remittance scams are shaping payment preferences

Security concerns extended beyond stablecoins in Visa’s findings. Some 36% of U.S. respondents said they had encountered scams connected to international money transfers, with fake messages, impersonation attempts and fraudulent investment schemes among the reported tactics.

Artificial intelligence appeared in part of that fraud exposure. Visa found that 24% of respondents had received AI-generated messages that appeared genuine, while 44% expressed concern about deepfakes being used to impersonate family members. Across all markets, one in four remittance users reported encountering fraud exposure.

Financial pressure around remittances remained visible in the same study. Roughly one in five senders said they reduced their own spending to support family members abroad. Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, described remittances as “a lifeline” and said Visa’s research pointed to trust as a central concern for users.

Visa is expanding its stablecoin infrastructure

While the new report measures consumer attitudes, Visa has continued building stablecoin services for banks, fintech firms and payment companies. On Sept. 8, the company said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs operated on its network, with payment volume from those programs rising nearly 200% year over year.

Visa placed its annualized stablecoin settlement volume above $20 billion at that point, more than 15 times the level reported a year earlier. In related coverage, crypto.news reported on Visa’s expansion to 160 stablecoin-linked card programs and the accompanying settlement figures.

The current figure follows a rapid expansion earlier in 2026. Visa said in April that its settlement pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate after adding Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon and Tempo, bringing supported blockchains to nine. Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar were already part of the program. Visa stablecoin settlement pilot across nine blockchains had reached the $7 billion rate by late April.

July brought another product launch when Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform for financial institutions, fintechs and crypto businesses. The beta platform supports minting, redeeming, holding and transferring Open USD, alongside wallet infrastructure and approval controls.

In related coverage, crypto.news reported on the Visa Stablecoin Platform and Open USD integration after the product was announced.

Visa said the platform initially remains available to selected beta clients. Its current product page says Open USD access carries volume and geographic limits, while API access is still listed as coming later.