Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau officially confirmed that the company will launch a stablecoin-backed prepaid card across nine international markets by the end of April 2026.
The initiative marks the first major push by a listed Indian fintech firm into the global stablecoin ecosystem, targeting regions with “stablecoin-friendly” regulatory environments.
The Strategy: Cross-Border Payments
The product is designed to solve the friction of cross-border transactions by leveraging digital assets for real-time settlement.
- How it Works: Users fund a digital prepaid card using stablecoins (like Tether (USDT) or USDC) held in their digital wallets.
- Point-of-Sale Conversion: When a user makes a purchase, the stablecoins are converted into the local fiat currency in real-time at the merchant’s terminal.
- Target Markets: The rollout will cover nine countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
- Exclusions: Amrish Rau explicitly stated that the company has no plans to launch this product in India or China, citing the restrictive regulatory stance on private digital currencies in both nations.
Key Business Metrics (Q3 FY26)
The announcement follows Pine Labs’ strong December quarter performance, highlighting its growing international footprint.
| Metric | Q3 FY26 Performance |
| Gross Revenue | ₹7.44 billion (up 24% YoY) |
| Overseas Revenue | 17% of total revenue |
| Global Presence | Operating in nearly 20 countries |
| Market Cap | Approximately $2.4 billion (BSE) |
Why Stablecoins?
Pine Labs sees stablecoins as the primary successor to traditional cross-border rails. “Cross-border payments potentially are getting replaced today by stablecoins,” Rau noted, warning that if Indian fintechs don’t capture this opportunity, they risk being left behind by global peers like Stripe (which recently integrated Bridge’s stablecoin tech) and PayPal.
Recent Market Context
Despite the strong revenue growth, Pine Labs’ shares have declined roughly 28% since its November 2025 listing due to intense domestic competition. This pivot to international stablecoin infrastructure is being viewed by analysts as a “high-margin” diversification play to recover its valuation, which halved from its peak private market value of $5 billion.
