Pine Labs Launches Stablecoin Prepaid Card

Pine Labs, an Indian fintech firm backed by Temasek Holdings and Peak XV Partners, is set to launch a stablecoin-backed prepaid card across nine countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia by the end of April. This initiative, led by CEO Amrish Rau, marks the first attempt by a major Indian payments company to enter the rapidly expanding stablecoin market. The card will allow consumers to fund payments in local currencies through real-time conversion of stablecoins from their digital wallets at the point of sale. Pine Labs will not launch the product in India or China due to regulatory concerns, as India's central bank has cautioned against stablecoins and China has banned unauthorized yuan-pegged stablecoins. This move aligns Pine Labs with global payment firms like Stripe, PayPal, and Klarna, which are already utilizing stablecoins for cross-border transactions, tapping into a market valued over $310 billion, dominated by Tether and USDC. Pine Labs is also focusing on AI-based payments and broader cross-border expansion.