Financial operations platform Ramp has extended its partnership with payment services company Stripe to launch the stablecoin-backed corporate cards with integrated spend management software.

Stripe claims it is the first in the financial industry to launch this product, with the company saying the move will make cross-border transactions faster and easier.

Businesses can fund a wallet with Ramp using local currency, which is converted to stablecoin, or by depositing stablecoins directly.

Card purchases work as standard local payments, with the cardholder simply paying in their local fiat currency and the merchant receiving fiat currency.

The move comes after Stripe announced last week that it had launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, a new money management capability powered by stablecoins.

This will be available to businesses in 101 countries and allow them to hold a balance in stablecoins, receive funds on both crypto and fiat rails, and send stablecoins around the world.

Stripe said these accounts will allow entrepreneurs in countries with volatile currencies to hedge against inflation and more easily access the global economy.

The new stablecoin-backed cards are designed to solve problems such as currency swings which can create financial risk for companies with a global footprint. The company pointed out that Argentina’s peso, for example, has lost almost half of its value since late 2023.

Additionally, Ramp said that payments can potentially take five or more business days to settle with each transaction can cost $50 or more in fees.

Ramp added that the cards aim to solve the problem of dealing with country-specific regulations and payment rail variations which can cause delays and frustration.

The cards will be rolled out first to Latin American countries, where Ramp said there is a growing demand for businesses to use stablecoins to store value and fund purchases. Ramp will then expand to Europe, Asia and Africa.

"Ramp believes in not just responding to industry trends but creating the future itself," said Subham Agarwal, director of product and head of product marketing at Ramp. "The product we are developing in partnership with Stripe is about improving how businesses spend globally, empowering our customers everywhere with a radically simpler and more stable way to transact across borders.

“We saw the pain our customers experience from inefficiencies in international finance and are working hard to fix it."

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