MiniPay, Opera’s stablecoin wallet operating on the Celo blockchain, has just launched its own Visa debit card in partnership with Visa and Gnosis Pay. With the new card, people from Europe (EEC), Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia can easily spend their stablecoins (mainly digital dollars) in over 175 million stores and points worldwide.
The MiniPay Card represents an important step in MiniPay’s mission to make stablecoins useful in everyday life – especially in markets where people increasingly save, receive and hold value in digital dollars, yet still have limited access to global payment infrastructure. Leveraging Gnosis Pay’s payment infrastructure, MiniPay connects local onramps and stablecoin balances to Visa’s global merchant network, enabling users to smoothly transition between local financial systems and everyday global commerce.
The launch builds on MiniPay’s growing payment ecosystem. After introducing Virtual Bank Accounts that let users receive money directly into their wallets in stablecoins, the MiniPay Card now gives users the ability to spend those balances both online and in person – anywhere Visa is accepted.
— MiniPay was created so that stablecoins are useful in everyday life – not just for holding or sending, but especially for spending — said Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera.
— Trust is the foundation of how people use digital payments” — says Dan Roesbery, VP Global Crypto Partnerships & GTM at Visa. — Through our partnership with MiniPay, we help support trusted and familiar payment experiences that connect users in markets with growing digital payment adoption to everyday commerce.
— We built Gnosis Pay with the conviction that stablecoins should work like real money, which means they must be spendable. — adds Friederike Ernst, founder of Gnosis.
Since its launch in 2023, MiniPay has grown to over 16 million activated wallets in more than 65 countries, with strong adoption in African markets and other high-growth regions. The MiniPay Card marks the next stage of this evolution, transforming MiniPay from a wallet for saving, transferring and paying into a far more complete shopping experience.
Users can add the MiniPay Card to Apple Pay and Google Pay to make quick contactless payments with their smartphone. The card operates on Gnosis Pay’s infrastructure, which links MiniPay stablecoin balances to Visa’s global network. Merchants receive payment in their local currency – without any crypto-related setup – while users spend funds directly from their wallet. Gnosis Pay also serves as the card program manager, handling the technical layer and compliance, enabling the solution to work across many markets.
In selected markets, the MiniPay Card will offer cashback in digital assets, including Tether Gold (XAUt0), USDT and USDC, rewarding users with assets designed for utility rather than short‑term promotional value.
Key features and highlights:
- Designed for real spending: Users can spend stablecoin balances worldwide with the familiar Visa debit card experience – both online and in‑store.
- Card infrastructure: The card is issued by regulated issuer Monavate and the global Visa payment network, with Gnosis Pay acting as the technical provider and program manager.
- Global reach, local relevance: The card expands MiniPay’s broader approach, combining the global utility of stablecoins with access points and payment experiences that reflect how people already move money locally.
- Digital wallet integration: Users can add the card to Apple Pay and Google Pay, enabling seamless mobile payments.
- Low‑fee model: The card has no monthly or annual fees, and transactions are charged only a competitively low nominal FX fee.
