Stripe is expanding its stablecoin-linked card infrastructure to support more currencies, with Plasma as a design partner. Cardholders will be able to spend directly from balances in dollars, euros or stablecoins without first converting through the dollar. The infrastructure is live in more than 30 countries, and Stripe aims for over 100 in 2027. The goal is to cut currency costs for people and businesses operating across several markets.

What it means: Stablecoin-linked cards solve a practical problem: how to spend digital balances at a shop that only takes cards. Until now most of these cards routed everything through the dollar, which meant double conversion and hidden costs for anyone holding euros. Being able to spend directly in the currency you hold makes the product more useful for Europeans. In Greece the interest lies mainly with digital nomads, workers paid from abroad and small exporters who get paid in several currencies. For merchants little changes, since they are paid through the card network as usual. There are points to watch, though. In the EU, stablecoin use is governed by MiCA, and only authorised e-money tokens may be offered by licensed providers. A reference to coins that comply with the US GENIUS Act does not automatically make them acceptable in Europe. For tax purposes, each payment from a stablecoin balance may also count as a disposal of a crypto-asset, which matters with Greece's new draft law on crypto taxation. Businesses should keep good records before they start using these cards. Finance teams should ask the card issuer for exportable transaction reports that show the conversion rate and the euro value at the time of every purchase.

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