MiniPay Launches Visa Debit Card for Stablecoin Spending in Nigeria and Kenya

MiniPay, the Opera-backed stablecoin wallet launched in 2023, has launched a Visa debit card in partnership with Visa and Gnosis Pay, allowing users in emerging markets—including Nigeria and Kenya—to spend their stablecoin balances anywhere Visa is accepted. The card lets users spend directly from their stablecoin wallets without converting to fiat via M-Pesa or OPay. MiniPay says it now has over 16 million activated wallets, up from 15 million reported in Q1 2026, with the majority of users in African markets. A YouGov-BVNK survey of 4,658 crypto users across 15 countries found that 79% of respondents in Nigeria and South Africa hold stablecoins and 71% are interested in using a stablecoin-linked debit card. Since launch, MiniPay has processed more than 500 million transactions. Opera's senior director of business development, Murray Spark, said most MiniPay users are in Africa, while Opera executive Jorgen Arnesen noted the card makes stablecoins usable for everyday spending, not just holding or sending. Visa's head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, added that linking MiniPay's stablecoin ecosystem to Visa's global merchant network gives users in high-growth markets a practical way to participate in global commerce. Globally, the crypto-card market has grown from roughly $100 million in monthly transaction volume in 2023 to $1.5 billion by 2025, an annualised run-rate of about $18 billion, with Visa controlling an estimated 90% of that segment.

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/06/25/minipay-visa-cards-for-stablecoins/