SAO PAULO — Cryptocurrency payments company Truther plans to launch a card in El Salvador on January 29th through a partnership with Visa. The card allows users to spend USDT directly from their wallets without pre-loading funds or relying on a custodial service.
Revealed in an interview with CoinDesk at Blockchain Conference Brasil, the product withdraws funds from Truther’s self-custody wallet upon purchase. The card has a 2% fee on currency conversion and no IOF tax on financial transactions for Brazilian users. After launch in El Salvador, this card will be available to all users of Truther.
“You don’t need to load the card in advance,” says founder Rocero López. “If you are in a hotel and your bill is 30 euros, the USDT equivalent will be deducted in real time.”
This move could make stablecoin spending more viable for travelers and crypto users who want to avoid converting to fiat or holding balances on centralized platforms. Unlike traditional crypto cards, which often require users to top up or use a custodial account, Truther’s integration maintains full control for users through a private wallet running on the Polygon blockchain, with plans to migrate to the Liquid network for added privacy, Lopez added.
The partnership with Visa builds on Truther’s existing infrastructure, which already processes $40 million per day by connecting stablecoins such as USDT to Brazil’s instant payments system PIX. This comes after Visa began testing stablecoin payments for creators and gig workers.
QR code based transactions
Its introduction in El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, will serve as a testbed for broader adoption in Latin America and beyond.
Truther is expanding its services beyond Brazil.
Lopez revealed that the company’s Swapix API, which facilitates instant crypto-to-fiat conversions in conjunction with local payment systems like PIX, will be rolled out in Argentina next, followed by Mexico, Colombia and Russia.
These markets were chosen based on the availability of 24/7 payment infrastructure and support for QR code-based transactions, which Lopez said are essential to maintaining real-time payments. Truther’s self-custody wallet supports its own stablecoins tied to BTC, USDT, and Brazilian Real, and is built on the Liquid network for enhanced privacy.
By early 2025, the plan is to integrate more local stablecoins, including Tether Gold and Argentine Peso-pegged tokens. This wallet allows users to spend cryptocurrencies and receive stablecoins via QR codes without incurring network fees (gas).
The company also indicated that it is working with traditional banks to integrate stablecoins into its platform, but Lopez said he could not add additional details. Nevertheless, he predicted that stablecoin trading volume could triple over the next 12 months due to a wave of traditional financial players joining the ecosystem.
