Airtm has teamed up with BVNK, a Mastercard company, to bring wallet-based payments to emerging markets. The firms announced the deal at the Stellar Meridian Conference in Lisbon.

Under the deal, Airtm users will be able to spend wallet funds at retailers that use BVNK. They will also gain new ways to top up their wallets and receive money.

The news comes as Airtm launches Airtm Connect. This service lets digital asset firms, including BVNK, connect their wallets to Airtm’s user base.

Airtm runs a last-mile financial network in the Global South, while BVNK provides stablecoin payment tools for businesses. Their partnership will run on the Stellar blockchain, which BVNK recently added to its platform.

“We’re not just adding another integration. We’re building the complete on-ramp-to-commerce flow that emerging market users have needed for years,”

said Rubén Galindo Steckel, CEO at Airtm.

“Airtm Connect shows what’s possible when fintech platforms stop thinking about wallets as silos and start treating them as distribution channels for real-world commerce,”

said Kimberly Mescal Julien, Global Head of Partnerships at BVNK.

With BVNK now part of Mastercard, Airtm will also have access to the Mastercard Global Money Platform.

It supports fiat and stablecoin accounts, payments and money movement. Airtm said this lets it keep its customer relationships without connecting to several providers.

BVNK gives Airtm one more option beside its current partners. As a result, the firm can serve customers through more funding paths and in more regions. The rollout will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by starmultikharisma via Magnific.