TLDR
Visa has released survey data showing rising interest in using stablecoins for payments across Asia Pacific, even while knowledge and trust still lag behind adoption.
- Visas Consumer 360 survey finds 46% of APAC consumers are likely to use stablecoins within five years, up from 16% who used them in the past year.
- Demand centers on everyday use cases like online shopping, travel, and cross-border transfers, with awareness and intent strongest in markets such as Hong Kong, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Concerns over fraud, complexity, and regulation remain the main brakes, so growth will likely favor regulated, bank-linked stablecoins and card programs over purely crypto-native rails.
Deep Dive
1. What Visas Survey Shows
Visas Consumer 360 study of 14,250 people across 14 APAC markets reports that 46% of respondents are likely to use stablecoins in the next five years, versus 16% who used them in the last 12 months, indicating a sharp expected uptick in use for everyday payments, not just trading. These survey findings were highlighted in coverage of the Visa stablecoin research.
The same research notes that 66% of consumers are aware of stablecoins, but only about 6% can accurately explain how they work, underscoring an education gap that could slow real-world usage relative to interest.
Stablecoins are moving from niche trading tools toward mainstream payment consideration in APAC, but usage will grow only as products feel familiar and simple to average consumers.
2. Where Demand Is Emerging
Visas survey says APAC consumers mainly eye stablecoins for three use cases: online purchases, travel spending, and cross-border money transfers, with 49% believing they could become common for international transfers within five years. Awareness is highest in Hong Kong, India, and Thailand, while intent to use is strongest in Vietnam and India, where about two-thirds of respondents express interest.
This lines up with broader data that Visa now supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs globally, with payment volume up nearly 200% year on year across those programs, according to a recent card partnership article.
The combination of remittance-heavy economies and strong e-commerce growth in APAC provides a natural foothold for USD and local-currency stablecoins as payment and transfer tools.
3. Trust, Regulation, And Market Impact
Despite growing interest, 38% of non-users cite fraud and scams as a concern, and 36% say they do not understand stablecoins well enough to use them. The survey also shows a clear preference for regulated providers, with respondents favoring government or central bank entities, followed by banks and regulated financial institutions.
For crypto markets, this suggests future APAC stablecoin growth will likely concentrate in regulated, fiat-backed stablecoins integrated into existing card networks and banking apps, rather than unregulated or opaque issuers. That can support stablecoin transaction volumes and on-chain liquidity, but may also tighten compliance and reduce purely speculative flows.
If you follow stablecoins for crypto exposure, APAC adoption is likely to favor transparent, regulated issuers and bank-linked rails, making regulatory developments and card partnerships key signals to watch.
Conclusion
Visas survey confirms that Asia Pacific consumers are increasingly open to using stablecoins for everyday payments, especially where they solve real pain points in cross-border transfers and online spending. The biggest constraints are trust and understanding, so the winners are likely to be regulated, well-integrated stablecoins and payment products that hide crypto complexity behind familiar card and app experiences.
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