10-30-2026 
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TL;DR: Visa aims to bring stablecoin-based remittances to the Philippines, but its 2026 survey reveals low awareness and trust among Filipinos. Despite these challenges, Visa sees an opportunity to build understanding and adoption by tapping into Filipinos’ appetite for education and new digital payment options.
Key Takeaways:
- Visa’s 2026 study highlights Filipinos’ continued reliance on cash-based remittances, with 81% expressing trust in the method as cash remittance inflows from OFWs reached $3.03 billion in the first eight months of the year.
- Stronger security and fraud protection, easy conversion to local currency, faster transfers, and lower fees could encourage Filipinos to use stablecoins for remittances.
- Visa is exploring stablecoin-based remittances in the Philippines but has yet to announce a rollout timeline as it navigates regulatory requirements and engages relevant stakeholders.
Global payments giant Visa (NASDAQ: V) is eager to demonstrate the power of stablecoins in potentially transforming the Philippines’ digital finance ecosystem through a planned application in the future, beginning in the cross-border payment sector.
Visa recognizes remittances as the lifeblood of the Philippine economy, representing 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 6.4% of gross national income (GNI) by the end of 2025. However, the country remains reliant on traditional cash-and-counter wire services, which often face friction, delays, and high fees.
According to its Money Travels: 2026 Digital Remittances Adoption study, which surveyed over 45,000 respondents across 20 markets, including 3,101 Filipinos, from February 24 to March 18, 81% of respondents expressed trust in cash-based remittances. This is evident in the cash remittances received by the Philippines from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the first eight months of the year, which the central bank pegged at around $3.03 billion, or 1.9% higher than the $2.98 billion registered in the same period in 2025.
Meanwhile, conventional digital transfers trail closely, garnering a 79% trust rating, while only 38% of surveyed Filipinos say they trust stablecoin remittances, local daily The Philippine Star reported.
What Filipinos really think about stablecoins
Visa said that a lack of understanding of what stablecoins are and their use cases is the primary reason for their slow adoption in cross-border transactions in the Philippines. For most Filipinos, stablecoins are still primarily used for crypto asset trading.
“We do see there’s a lower level of awareness or trust in stable coins,” said Visa Direct head Qinwen Xiao, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Findings of the study show that a staggering 58% of Filipinos have not heard about stablecoin, while 21% claimed to have heard about it but have no idea what it is. Of those who were aware of stablecoins, 37% said they know that they are designed to maintain a stable value relative to fiat, while 35% said they are aware that their value fluctuates with market volatility.
For some 26% of respondents, however, stablecoin is seen as an asset designed specifically for traders rather than for ordinary, everyday transactions. Meanwhile, because of the underlying technology on which stablecoins are built, 18% of pollsters think stablecoin transactions are anonymous and untraceable, while 3% think their government is against them.
This varying perception may have contributed to Filipinos’ low confidence rating in stablecoins, with only 19% believing that money flowed through stablecoins can be recovered during sudden de-pegging events.
In terms of using stablecoins as a remittance transfer method, only 9% said they trust it, while 41% prefer cash-based transfers and 34% prefer digital transfers, BusinessWorld Online reported.
Meanwhile, for 40% of Filipino respondents, stablecoins must have stronger security and fraud protection measures before they can fully trust them, while 26% said they must be easily convertible to local fiat or cash before getting on board the stablecoin train.
Other drivers of trust among Filipinos also include faster access to funds (24%) and lower fees (23%).
Visa taps Filipinos’ stablecoin curiosity
While Filipinos’ low trust and awareness of stablecoins may have slowed the adoption of the technology in the remittance sector, the country has expressed enthusiasm for learning more about it and possibly incorporating it into future transactions.
The Visa study showed that 40% of Filipinos want more education about stablecoins, while 37% said they are looking for new digital money options. Meanwhile, 27% of respondents placed greater importance on the stablecoin’s issuer than on the technology itself.
Visa is now banking on this enthusiasm to put its stablecoin agenda into play, treating it as an opportunity to innovate the remittance sector while providing Filipinos a new avenue to transfer money at a reduced cost.
The payments company said it is looking to deploy stablecoin-based money transfers in the Philippines, but remains mum about the project’s rollout.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a timeline on when exactly the consumers or businesses or financial institutions will adopt stable coins,” said Xiao, adding that this is an ongoing conversation with relevant authorities and organizations, noting that the company will also have to take into consideration the Philippines’ regulatory landscape for stablecoin use.
Currently, Visa is juggling ongoing discussions about its planned stablecoin-based money transfer, the commercial deployment of its stablecoin-enabled prefunding service, and the targeted launch of its Visa Direct service in the Philippines within the next six months.
FAQs:
Why is Visa focusing on stablecoins in the Philippines?
Remittances are central to the Philippine economy, equal to 7.3% of GDP and 6.4% of GNI by the end of 2025. Yet the system still leans on cash-and-counter services that involve friction, delays, and high fees, which Visa believes stablecoins could reduce.
Why don’t more Filipinos use stablecoins for remittances?
Mostly because of limited understanding. Many people associate stablecoins with crypto trading (26% see them as built for traders), 18% wrongly think transactions are anonymous and untraceable, and relatively few are confident in their stability or recoverability.
When will Visa launch stablecoin transfers in the Philippines?
There is no timeline yet. Visa Direct head Qinwen Xiao said discussions with authorities and organizations are ongoing, and that the Philippines’ regulatory landscape must be considered. Visa is also working on commercial deployment of its stablecoin-enabled prefunding service and aims to launch Visa Direct in the Philippines within the next six months.
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