Cashi Stablecoin Visa Card: What Hong Kong's New Global Beta Offers

Hong Kong-based fintech Cashi launched its stablecoin-backed Visa card in public beta on August 11–12, 2026, giving users in over 100 countries the ability to deposit USDT or USDC and spend directly at any Visa merchant — with cashback up to 3%, a custodially secured wallet, and plans to expand from virtual to physical cards in Mexico later this year .

How It Works

Users download the Cashi app, deposit USDT or USDC into a custodial wallet, and receive a virtual Visa card within minutes . The card is accepted at 150+ million Visa merchant locations worldwide, online and in-store via contactless/NFC . During the beta, the virtual card supports Google Pay; Apple Pay and physical cards are slated for the full launch . The merchant receives ordinary fiat currency through Visa's existing clearing and settlement rails — they never touch crypto .

Cashback Structure

Cashi offers up to 3% cashback on subscriptions, paid out in real dollars (not points or proprietary tokens), with no expiration . Cashback applies to everyday spending categories including groceries, subscriptions, online shopping, and travel .

Security & Custody

Cashi uses a custodial wallet model: the platform holds the user's USDT/USDC and handles the on-chain to fiat conversion at the point of sale . The processing infrastructure is powered by Thredd, an AI-first issuer processing platform, which handles card issuance, transaction processing, and compliance . Specific details on insurance, KYC/AML procedures, or separate reserve attestation have not been publicly detailed in launch materials.

Partnerships

Partner	Role
Visa	Card network — the card runs on the Visa acceptance network
Thredd	AI-first issuer processor — handles card issuance, transaction processing, and program management

No other banking or distribution partnerships have been named at this stage.

Regional Expansion Plans

• Live now: Hong Kong (virtual card + Google Pay) .
• Public beta reach: App available in over 100 countries for download and card issuance .
• Late 2026: Mexico — the first market to get physical cards and Apple Pay support .
• The phased rollout is designed to create a repeatable expansion template for additional markets .

Broader Market Context

Cashi's launch sits inside a much larger structural shift:

• Visa now runs more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across over 50 countries . Its stablecoin settlement hit a $7 billion annualized run rate across nine blockchains by April 2026 .
• In March 2026, Visa and Bridge (Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure firm) announced plans to bring stablecoin-linked Visa cards to 100+ countries by end of 2026, expanding from an initial 18 markets .
• Mastercard announced in June 2026 that it will support intraday, weekend, and holiday settlement in regulated stablecoins (USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD) , and in March 2026 agreed to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion .
• Stablecoin-linked card spending hit $4.5 billion in 2025 (up 673% year-over-year) and reached $759 million in monthly volume by July 2026 — a 2.5x increase from $306 million a year earlier .

Cashi is one of many fintechs now riding Visa's and Mastercard's production-grade stablecoin rails, but it differentiates on global beta availability from day one (100+ countries), a simple 3% real-dollar cashback structure, and a phased go-to-market that starts in Hong Kong and Mexico before targeting other regions.