Stablecoin payments company Reap has secured Visa Principal Issuer Membership in Mexico, the firm announced Thursday. The license lets Reap issue Visa cards backed by stablecoin collateral in the country, where it already holds a Money Transmitter Registry and registrations for credit card issuing and virtual assets. Reap expects to onboard roughly 250,000 new card users in Mexico, with the first clients going live in Q2 2026.
Why Mexico became Reap's Americas hub
Mexico isn't just another market for Reap — it's the company's designated cross-border payments hub for the entire Americas. The Visa Principal Issuer status complements registrations Reap locked down earlier this year, including a Money Transmitter Registry and Vulnerable Activities Registrations for Credit Cards Issuing and Virtual Assets. That regulatory stack means Reap can move money, issue cards, and handle crypto in one jurisdiction. The company already holds a similar Visa Principal Issuer license in Hong Kong, making it one of the few stablecoin payments firms with authorized operations in both Asia and the Americas.
How stablecoin cards actually work
Reap's card product isn't your typical prepaid debit card. Behind the scenes, the company uses stablecoins as credit collateral — inbound cross-border funds settle in stablecoins, and those same coins back card spending immediately. That eliminates the days-long wait for fiat settlement. In 2025, Reap processed billions of dollars in stablecoin-funded transaction flows, according to the company. The model targets businesses that move money across borders and need fast, usable liquidity rather than just another crypto wallet.
The market context: Latin America and Asia
Latin America now counts 57.7 million crypto users, and adoption in the region jumped 116% in 2024. That growth is a tailwind for Reap's Mexico play, but the bigger opportunity may be connecting those users to Asia's stablecoin economy. On-chain stablecoin activity in Asia hit US$2.4 trillion, and corporate transactions using stablecoins surged from under $100 million in early 2023 to over $3 billion by early 2025. Reap's dual-license structure — Hong Kong and Mexico — lets it sit at that intersection.
First Mexico cardholders are expected by the end of June. That deadline will test whether Reap can translate its Hong Kong experience into a new regulatory environment at scale.
