Visa found that U.S. consumer interest in stablecoins increased from 36% to 56% when survey participants were shown hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.
Visa’s Money Travels 2026 report, released on Sept. 23, explored consumer attitudes toward stablecoins, remittances and payment security. Morning Consult carried out the study for Visa from Feb. 24 to March 2, surveying 2,192 U.S. adults and 45,445 respondents across 20 global markets.
The 56% figure reflects stated willingness under a hypothetical set of protections, rather than current stablecoin use or an observed adoption rate. Visa said respondents were given stablecoin definitions before answering, while the survey relied on self-reported responses.
Visa Finds Stablecoin Adoption Intent Rises With Added Protections
Without the hypothetical safeguards, 36% of U.S. respondents said they would consider using stablecoins. According to Visa, that share rose to 45% when the payment option came through an existing financial provider. Stated interest reached 56% after bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance were added.
For many respondents, the provider’s identity mattered more than the technology itself. Visa found that 64% of Americans said their trust in a payment method depended more on the company providing it. Traditional commercial banks recorded 61% trust for digital currency services, while global payment networks reached 60%.
Awareness of stablecoins remained relatively low despite their growing role in payment infrastructure. More than half of U.S. respondents, or 56%, said they had not heard of stablecoins before taking the survey. Visa said some consumers who knew about them mistakenly believed stablecoins fluctuate in value like Bitcoin.
Across the 20 markets surveyed, 69% of respondents said their trust in a new way to move money depended more on the provider than the underlying technology. The report found that 45% of U.S. respondents would accept a 24-hour transfer delay in exchange for stronger fraud protection.
Visa Survey’s Deposit Insurance Scenario Remains Hypothetical
Visa specifically cautioned that the protection scenario should not be interpreted as reflecting current stablecoin coverage in the U.S. Its methodology note says stablecoins are not currently covered by deposit insurance, including FDIC protection.
Federal regulators are continuing to implement the GENIUS Act framework. An FDIC proposal published in April would set reserve, capital, redemption and risk-management requirements for payment stablecoin issuers under its oversight. The proposal states that deposits held as stablecoin reserves would not receive pass-through insurance for payment stablecoin holders.
Federal Reserve staff reiterated the distinction in a Sept. 4 research note. The note said payment stablecoins must maintain 1:1 reserve backing under the GENIUS Act, while the law does not classify the stablecoins themselves as federally insured deposits.
The regulatory framework remains under implementation. The OCC’s 2026 proposal outlines requirements for reserve composition, liquidity, capital, redemption and oversight, while a separate interagency proposal covers customer identification rules for permitted payment stablecoin issuers.
Remittance Scams Are Shaping Payment Preferences
Visa’s findings showed that security concerns also extended beyond stablecoins. About 36% of U.S. respondents said they had encountered scams linked to international money transfers, including fake messages, impersonation attempts and fraudulent investment schemes among the tactics reported.
Artificial intelligence also featured in the fraud risks identified by Visa. The company found that 24% of respondents had received AI-generated messages that appeared authentic, while 44% were concerned about deepfakes being used to impersonate family members. Across all markets, one in four remittance users said they had encountered fraud.
Financial strain linked to remittances also remained evident in the study. About one in five senders said they had cut their own spending to support family members overseas. Vira Platonova, Visa Direct’s global head, described remittances as “a lifeline” and said Visa’s research highlighted trust as a key concern for users.
Visa Expands Its Stablecoin Infrastructure
While the latest report focuses on consumer attitudes, Visa has continued developing stablecoin services for banks, fintech companies and payment firms. On Sept. 8, the company said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating on its network, with payment volume from those programs increasing nearly 200% year over year.
At the time, Visa put its annualized stablecoin settlement volume above $20 billion, marking more than a 15-fold increase from the level reported a year earlier. Related coverage from also highlighted Visa’s expansion to 160 stablecoin-linked card programs and the settlement figures associated with that growth.
The latest figure follows rapid expansion earlier in 2026. In April, Visa said its settlement pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate after adding Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon and Tempo, taking the number of supported blockchains to nine. Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar had already joined the program. By late April, Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot across nine blockchains had reached the $7 billion annualized rate.
July saw another product launch as Visa introduced its Stablecoin Platform for financial institutions, fintechs and crypto businesses. The beta platform supports the minting, redemption, holding and transfer of Open USD, along with wallet infrastructure and approval controls.
In related coverage, reported on Visa’s Stablecoin Platform and its Open USD integration following the product’s announcement.
Visa said the platform is initially available only to selected beta clients. Its current product page notes that Open USD access is subject to volume and geographic limits, while API access is still listed as coming later.
