Global fintech players on the path to Web3 integration

Payment giants from the traditional economic sector, such as Visa and Mastercard, are integrating Web3 solutions to enhance digital payments worldwide. The goal of these companies is not just to stay trendy, but to rethink the future of finance, digital identity, payments, and user interaction.

According to Chainalysis data for 2024, the annual volume of the crypto payments market exceeded $18 trillion, and this figure continues to grow. McKinsey estimates that by 2027, the number of major financial institutions using blockchain technology for internal operations or client solutions will reach 60%.

PayPal

PayPal was one of the first traditional payment giants to integrate cryptocurrencies into its ecosystem.

Back in 2020, the company added the ability to purchase major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) for U.S. users. By 2023, the list of countries had expanded to 31.

In addition, PayPal became the first payment giant to launch its stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. PayPal USD (PYUSD) also became the first stablecoin from a significant financial institution approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

As of August 2025, PayPal USD ranks among the top seven largest stablecoins by market capitalization, which stands at $1.18 billion. However, this is less than 1% of the capitalization of the leading stablecoin USDT. Nevertheless, since the beginning of 2025, this figure has grown more than 2.5 times.

PayPal is actively developing Braintree and Venmo as platforms for Web3 payments, and in June 2025, it began collaborating with the Stellar blockchain project to expand PYUSD. It is expected that by the end of 2025, more than 30% of PayPal's commercial partners will accept PYUSD for goods and services.

JPMorgan analysts predict that by 2027, PYUSD could capture 5–7% of the stablecoin market, competing with leading stablecoins USDT and USDC in the regulated assets segment.

Visa

The payment giant Visa has established itself as an infrastructure leader for crypto payments. Since 2021, the company has been actively testing the possibility of stablecoin settlements through its network.

By 2022, Visa had integrated USD Coin (USDC) into its B2B payment gateway, allowing corporate clients to conduct cross-border payments in digital assets.

By 2024, the number of blockchain companies with which Visa was cooperating exceeded 70. Among them were well-known names such as:

Circle,
Crypto.com,
Paxos (issuer of PYUSD, USDG, and former Binance stablecoin BUSD),
BitPay,
Anchorage.

According to analysts, in 2024, Visa processed $15.7 trillion worth of stablecoin transactions, accounting for more than 56% of the total annual volume ($27.6 trillion). By 2026, Visa plans to add support for multichain payments (Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base) through its unified gateway, which will further strengthen its position in the cryptocurrency market.

Deloitte analysts believe that by 2028, up to 15% of all Visa B2B payments will be processed in stablecoins, especially in logistics, e-commerce, and digital services sectors. They also do not rule out the possibility of Visa issuing its stablecoin in partnership with a regulated issuer.

Mastercard

While Visa focuses on innovation, another payment giant, Mastercard, has chosen to concentrate more on security and regulation. However, Mastercard is not neglecting innovation either: between 2022 and 2024, the company filed 23 patent applications in the field of Web3 and digital assets.

Mastercard became one of the first traditional payment systems to certify crypto payments through the Mastercard Send platform. This allowed banks and other financial institutions to send funds in stablecoins legally. According to Mastercard's official data, about 30% of all transactions conducted by the payment giant in 2024 involved digital assets.

As of 2024, more than 50 banks were using Mastercard's Crypto Credentialing Framework — a system that establishes common verification standards in the Web3 space.

PwC analysts predict that by 2030, Mastercard will provide up to 20% of all regulated Web3 transactions in Europe and Asia. Experts note that while Mastercard's more conservative approach could lead to a loss of market share to more aggressive players, it reduces reputational and regulatory risks for the company.

Stripe

Stripe became the first payment giant to accept Bitcoin payments back in 2014. However, in 2018, amid a deep market correction, the company exited the crypto sector, only to return in 2022 with a renewed strategy.

The company chose SaaS solutions with blockchain integration on Ethereum, Polygon, Base, and USDC as its main Web3 direction. By 2024, more than 15,000 companies were already using Stripe's Web3 functionality.

Among Stripe's Web3 partners are well-known companies such as Circle, MetaMask, and Chainlink. It is already known that Stripe, in collaboration with Circle, is developing its blockchain called Tempo for launching stablecoins and tokenized assets.

In June 2025, Stripe acquired Privy, a developer of infrastructure for Web3 wallets. The acquisition enabled Stripe to provide users with secure and convenient crypto wallet solutions, as well as simplify access to decentralized applications (DApps).

Experts believe that by 2026, Stripe could become the main payment layer for Web3-oriented SaaS applications.

Conclusion

The listed companies have taken the position of technology leaders in Web3 among traditional payment systems and are likely to maintain it shortly. By 2026, more than 40% of major online retailers such as Amazon, Shopify, and Alibaba will accept cryptocurrencies from Visa, Stripe, or PayPal via API.

Analysts forecast that by 2030, 70% of all crypto payments will be made through stablecoins, with USDC, PYUSD, and new stablecoins from payment giants dominating this segment.