Visa survey finds US stablecoin willingness rises from 36% to 56% with hypothetical bank protections
A Visa survey found US willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers rises from 36% to 56% with hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.
Why it matters
The survey puts a number on what Visa has to clear to move stablecoins into ordinary payments, since Americans who say they will not touch an uninsured token say they would use one from a provider they already trust. Visa is already operating at scale on stablecoins. Crypto.News reported settlement volume above a $20 billion annualized rate as of September, and Crypto News Flash reported that Visa and Reap are extending stablecoin-linked cards to more than 100 markets, with Visa already running more than 160 such programs and payment volume nearly tripling year over year. None of it measures adoption, because the 56% is stated willingness under protections no stablecoin currently offers.
Where the sources disagree
What the 36% to 56% figure measures
Willingness to use stablecoins, framed generally
Bitcoin Insider, Bitcoin Insider, CryptoPotato, Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
Willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border or international transfers
Decrypt, Cointelegraph
Bitcoin Insider and CryptoPotato describe the jump as general willingness to use stablecoins, while Decrypt and Cointelegraph limit it to cross-border and international transfers.
What causes the 20-point jump in stated willingness
Roughly half of the reluctance around stablecoins stems from missing consumer protections
Bitcoin Insider
64% say trust depends more on who offers the payment method than on the technology; the survey measured stated willingness, not causes
Cointelegraph, Crypto.News, CryptoPotato, Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
Bitcoin Insider attributes the gap to a lack of consumer protections, while Visa's own figures emphasise provider trust and no outlet reported a causal breakdown of the jump.
Figures that do not reconcile
Found by comparing the numbers in the reports automatically. They are differences, not yet confirmed to be about the same thing.
size of the move
45%
Bitcoin Insider
36%
Decrypt
Bitcoin Insider reports 45%, Decrypt reports 36% (20% apart).
size of the move (rose stablecoins)
45%
Bitcoin Insider
36%
Crypto.News
Bitcoin Insider reports 45%, Crypto.News reports 36% (20% apart).
size of the move
36%
Decrypt
56%
Crypto.News
Decrypt reports 36%, Crypto.News reports 56% (36% apart).
Key facts
Visa said stated US willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers rises from 36% to 56% when respondents are given hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.
56 %Disputed figureReported by Bitcoin Insider
Morning Consult surveyed 2,192 U.S. adults for Visa between 24 February and 2 March, part of a poll of 45,445 respondents across 20 markets globally.
2,192Reported by Bitcoin Insider
64% of US respondents said trust in a payment method depends more on who offers it than on the technology behind it.
64 %Disputed figureReported by Bitcoin Insider
Willingness to use stablecoins rose from 36% to 45% when an existing financial provider offered them.
45 %Disputed figureReported by Bitcoin Insider
56% of US respondents had never heard of stablecoins before Visa's survey defined them.
56 %Disputed figureReported by Decrypt
Visa said the bank-level protections in its scenario are hypothetical and that no stablecoin carries deposit insurance today.
Reported by Decrypt
Visa said stablecoin settlement volume has passed a $20 billion annualized rate as of September, a figure only Crypto.News carried.
20,000,000,000 USDReported by Crypto.News
What happened
Visa's Money Travels 2026 report, released on 23 September, rests on a Morning Consult survey of 2,192 U.S. adults fielded between 24 February and 2 March, alongside 45,445 respondents across 20 markets globally. Visa said stated willingness among Americans to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers rises from 36% to 56% in a hypothetical scenario with bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance, and Decrypt, Cointelegraph, Crypto.News, The Daily Hodl, CryptoPotato, Bitcoin Insider and Crypto News all carried those two figures. 64% of Americans said trust in a payment method depends more on who offers it than on the technology behind it, willingness rose to 45% when an existing financial provider offered stablecoins, and traditional banks and global payment networks drew the highest trust for digital currency services at 61% and 60%. Awareness is thin and fraud colours the rest of the poll, with 56% of Americans saying they had never heard of stablecoins, 36% reporting cross-border payment scams, and 44% worried about AI deepfakes impersonating family members. Visa cautioned that the protections are hypothetical, that no stablecoin carries deposit insurance today, and that the 56% describes stated willingness rather than current use. Bitcoin Insider read the 20-point gap as a sign that missing consumer protections drive stablecoin reluctance, an interpretation no other outlet reported, while Cointelegraph alone tied the timing to companies preparing for the GENIUS Act, which awaits final rules from US agencies ahead of an effective date expected in January 2027.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Bitcoin Insider
Visa Survey Finds Consumer Stablecoin Interest Rises With Bank-Level Protections
- Update
Visa publishes Money Travels 2026 findings
Visa put stated US willingness to use stablecoins at 36% without safeguards and 56% with hypothetical bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by Decrypt
Americans Would Use Stablecoins—If They Came With Bank Protections, Visa Study Finds
- Official statement
Visa clarifies the protections are hypothetical
Visa said its scenario does not signal that bank-level protections are coming, and that stablecoins do not carry FDIC insurance.
- Update
Decrypt and Cointelegraph carry the same figures
Both reported the 36% and 56% pair, the rise to 45% through an existing financial provider and the 64% provider-over-technology trust finding.
- Update
GENIUS Act timing raised as context
Cointelegress reported the bill awaits finalized rules from key US financial agencies ahead of an effective date expected in January 2027.
- Update
Settlement volume figure published
Crypto.News reported that Visa said stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized rate as of September.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 23 Sept 2026, 15:00 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 23 Sept 2026, 16:26 UTC: Decrypt — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 23 Sept 2026, 18:17 UTC: Cointelegraph — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 23 Sept 2026, 19:00 UTC: Crypto News Flash — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 07:51 UTC: Crypto.News — 5 independent sources, 5 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 14:30 UTC: The Daily Hodl — 6 independent sources, 6 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 02:33 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 7 independent sources, 7 reports
- 27 Sept 2026, 22:23 UTC: CryptoPotato — 8 independent sources, 8 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: USD Coin, Circle, PayPal USD, Japan, Avalanche, Mastercard, Federal Reserve
Original sources
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