Visa expands AI stablecoin and tokenized payments across CEMEA

Visa unveiled a new suite of artificial intelligence (AI), stablecoin and tokenization capabilities for clients across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), ahead of its Visa Payments Forum in Paris on July 1.

The company said the new tools are designed to support the next generation of digital commerce by combining AI-powered payments with blockchain-based infrastructure. «Commerce is entering a new phase that is increasingly intelligent, programmable and embedded into everyday experiences,» said Tareq Muhmood, Visa's Regional President for CEMEA.

Visa highlighted the rapid growth of tokenization in the region, with tokenized transactions rising from 26% in 2023 to 70% in 2026. It also introduced new features, including Agent Score and Agentic Directory, aimed at helping merchants securely interact with AI-powered shopping agents.

On the back end of payments, Visa said it is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities. Since launching the service in CEMEA a year ago, settlement volumes have increased nearly 60-fold. Globally, Visa has processed billions of dollars in stablecoin transactions across VisaNet, reaching an annualized run rate of about $7 billion as of March 2026.

The company also announced Visa Trip Intelligence, a new AI-powered service launching in CEMEA that helps banks anticipate customers' travel needs, deliver personalized recommendations and reduce payment friction while abroad.