Cryptocurrency wallet company Tangem has unveiled Tangem Pay, a virtual Visa card linked directly to its hardware wallet, allowing users to spend stablecoins at millions of merchants worldwide. In collaboration with US payment infrastructure provider Paera, this innovative pay card facilitates deposits and expenditures in Circle’s USDC stablecoin on the Polygon network.
CEO of Tangem Pay, Marcos Nunes, emphasized the card’s versatility, stating that once users deposit into their Tangem Pay account, they can make purchases wherever Visa is accepted, independent of the local currency. The card also supports popular payment platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay for seamless transactions.
The Tangem Pay cards are set to launch in late November, with an ambitious rollout across 42 countries, including the United States, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. A European launch is scheduled for 2026. Nunes remarked, “The virtual card is just the beginning — we are already working on expanding to new countries and offering incentives to make this our users’ go-to card for daily spending.”
Tangem envisions the pay card as a fundamental element of a comprehensive self-custody crypto ecosystem, which includes aspects of storage, growth, and spending. This self-custodial approach allows users to have direct ownership of their cryptocurrency while avoiding the Know Your Customer (KYC) mandates associated with custodial wallets. Although the Tangem Pay account itself remains subject to KYC regulations, the company does not access user data, applying KYC requirements strictly to the pay card balance. Importantly, should a user be blacklisted or found involved in illegal activities, the partner regulatory authority responsible for compliance can disconnect the card from the payment network without affecting the integrity of the hardware wallet.
The compliance and settlement processes for Tangem Pay are managed by Rain, a stablecoin payment infrastructure provider. Rain has recently announced plans to connect with Western Union’s forthcoming stablecoin-based settlement system, part of the company’s Solana-based Digital Asset Network, which is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.
As Tangem Pay prepares for a major launch, its functionalities are influenced by ongoing global regulatory developments concerning stablecoins. These fiat-pegged digital tokens have attracted significant regulatory scrutiny due to concerns about their potential risks related to financial stability, consumer protection, and anti-money laundering compliance.
In the U.S., the GENIUS Act of 2025 has proposed a federal definition for “payment stablecoins,” requiring issuers to have full-reserve backing in liquid assets and mandate monthly disclosures. It also distinguishes federally regulated stablecoins from securities and bank deposits, providing legal clarity for both issuers and users.
Internationally, regulatory bodies are increasingly focused on stablecoin governance. The EU’s MiCA framework and the UK’s specific regulatory proposals on stablecoins emphasize transparency and operational resilience, which are particularly relevant for Tangem Pay as it navigates a diverse regulatory landscape across 42 markets.
