Key facts
- 56% of Americans would use stablecoins for international transfers if they had bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance.
- 36% of Americans are willing to use stablecoins for international transfers without these protections.
- 56% of U.S. respondents have never heard of stablecoins.
- Interest in stablecoins rises to 45% when offered through an existing financial provider.
- In Latin America, willingness to use stablecoins more than doubled from 34% to 74% with protections in place.
- 36% of U.S. remitters have encountered a cross-border payment scam.
A hypothetical scenario where stablecoins offer bank-level safeguards like fraud protection and deposit insurance would significantly boost their adoption among Americans, according to a new report by Visa. The study found that willingness to use stablecoins for international transfers would jump from 36% to 56% under such conditions. However, awareness of stablecoins remains a major hurdle, with 56% of U.S. respondents never having heard of them. Many who are aware mistakenly believe they fluctuate in value like Bitcoin.
Interest in stablecoins increases when they are offered by familiar financial institutions. When presented through an existing provider, interest rose to 45%. A majority of Americans expressed trust in traditional banks (61%) and global payment networks (60%) for digital currency services. Visa itself is positioned as one of these trusted networks.
The trend of increased adoption with added protections was also observed globally, with willingness in Latin America more than doubling from 34% to 74%. The survey, conducted by Morning Consult from February 24 to March 2, polled 45,445 individuals across 20 markets. Visa highlighted concerns about scams, with 36% of U.S. remitters reporting past experiences with cross-border payment scams and 44% worrying about AI deepfakes. Visa has been developing its stablecoin infrastructure, with its stablecoin settlement volume reaching an annualized rate above $20 billion, up from $3.5 billion when it began using Solana last December.