Payments firm Mesh and Visa announced on 19 October, at the Money20/20 conference in San Francisco, that people will be able to spend crypto and stablecoin balances straight from participating wallet apps at more than 175 million places that take Visa. Mesh sets up a Visa payment credential in the background and converts the crypto at checkout, so shops get a normal Visa payment. No launch date, wallet list, fees or supported coins have been announced.

How it would work

Today, spending crypto in a shop usually means getting a separate crypto debit card. Under this plan, a wallet app that signs up with Mesh could let you tap your phone at a contactless terminal or pay online from the balance you already hold. Mesh would handle the identity checks, the funding and the conversion. "Crypto never had a spending problem, it has a last-mile problem," said Mesh CEO Bam Azizi.

What we don't know yet

Neither company has said when it starts, which wallets will offer it, which coins it covers, or what it will cost you. That matters, because converting crypto at checkout can carry a fee or a weaker exchange rate. Selling crypto to pay can also count as a taxable sale in many countries, including the US. Our guide on how to turn crypto into cash covers the costs to compare.

Ignore "early access" offers

  • Big launch news brings fake sign-up pages for a "Visa crypto card" or "Mesh wallet". Real access will come through your own wallet app once it's live, not through an ad or a DM.
  • No real sign-up will ask for your recovery phrase or a deposit to "activate" spending.
  • Got a message offering early access? Run it through our 2-minute scam check first.

Sources: Mesh press release (PR Newswire), 19 Oct 2026, Crypto Briefing, FinanceFeeds, CoinMarketCap Academy.