Airtm Plans Retailer Payments Through BVNK Integration on Stellar

Airtm plans to let customers spend funds held in its wallets at participating retailers through BVNK’s payment infrastructure, adding a merchant-payment use for its wallet service over Stellar.

Airtm and BVNK announced the partnership Oct. 29 at the Stellar Meridian Conference in Lisbon. Rollout is scheduled to begin in Q4 2026, but the companies have not set a specific launch date.

The partnership was announced alongside Airtm Connect, a product that lets digital asset companies connect with Airtm’s user base. The service is also designed to give customers additional ways to fund wallets and receive money.

“We believe payments should move natively on-chain,” said Rubén Galindo Steckel, Airtm’s CEO.

Airtm Connect uses USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar. That product detail does not establish what asset participating retailers will receive through this partnership. The companies have not named the first merchants or rollout markets, or disclosed payment fees or currency-conversion terms.

BVNK added Stellar support for enterprise customers in September, with its platform available in more than 130 countries. That figure describes BVNK’s platform coverage; it does not establish where Airtm customers will be able to spend.

The planned connection extends Airtm’s 2025 announcement of USDC and Stellar support on its platform. Airtm will also have access to Mastercard’s Global Money Platform, which Mastercard and BVNK launched Oct. 15 to offer fiat and stablecoin capabilities through a single API. The companies have not detailed which platform services Airtm will use or when they will be integrated.

Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK on Aug. 3. The retailer payment integration is scheduled to begin rolling out in Q4 2026.