# Open USD (OUSD): the stablecoin backed by 140 companies, explained

> In June, more than 140 companies — Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock among them — announced a single shared dollar stablecoin. By the end of September it was reported live. Here is what it is, how it differs from USDT and USDC, what has not been disclosed, and what a business that accepts stablecoin payments should do about it.

Updated 2026-10-18 · Payaries · https://www.payaries.com/blog/open-usd-stablecoin-explained

## What was announced

On 30 June 2026 a company called Open Standard announced **Open USD (OUSD)**, which it calls “a new stablecoin for global money movement”. The announcement listed more than 140 partner businesses: payment networks and processors (Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, American Express, Adyen), banks and asset managers (BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered), technology and commerce companies (Google, Shopify) and crypto firms (Coinbase, Ripple, Solana). Open Standard describes itself as an independent company. Its founding CEO is Zach Abrams, a co-founder of Bridge, the stablecoin company Stripe owns.

Three design claims carry the pitch, and all three are the consortium's own:

- **Free to mint and redeem.** Businesses can create and redeem OUSD at no cost, with “no artificial limits on volume”.
- **Reserve income goes to partners.** Earnings on the reserve assets are shared with the partners, less “a small management fee” to cover operating costs. The fee is not stated.
- **Shared governance.** A board made up of the partners, rather than a single issuer's board.

On timing: Reuters reported at the announcement that the token was expected to go live later in 2026. Launch-week coverage, including Forbes and PYMNTS, reports it went live on **30 September 2026**, with businesses able to start through integration paths run by Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard and Visa. One outlet noted that not every path was yet live.

## How it differs from USDT and USDC

|  | USDT | USDC | OUSD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Tether | Circle | Open Standard (some outlets say Bridge) — coverage differs |
| Who earns the reserve income | The issuer | The issuer, with part shared by contract (reportedly with Coinbase) | Partners, less a management fee (per Open Standard) |
| Governance | A single company | A single company | A board of partners (per Open Standard) |
| Share of stablecoin market, April 2026 (CoinDesk data, via The Next Web) | About 62% | About 25% | New — no history |

The reserve-income line is the point. The Next Web notes that reserve income produced most of Circle's revenue last year, which is why Circle's shares reportedly fell 15–17% on the day OUSD was announced. An Ark Invest researcher quoted by The Next Web doubted OUSD could unseat Circle given the incumbent's distribution advantages, and CoinShares' own view is that USDC's liquidity and integrations are a durable moat. Those are opinions; neither has been tested yet.

One regulatory detail explains the structure. The US GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, created a federal framework for payment stablecoins and, as CoinShares reads it, bars issuers from paying yield directly to holders. OUSD therefore routes reserve income to the distribution partners, not to the people holding the token.

## What has not been disclosed

Open Standard's announcement is a design statement, not a prospectus. These are the gaps to close before you treat OUSD like a dollar:

- **Reserves.** The announcement does not give the reserve composition, the custodians or how often reserves are attested. One launch-week report names BlackRock, Lead Bank and BNY and monthly attestations; we could not confirm that in Open Standard's own materials.
- **The issuer.** Some outlets say Bridge issues OUSD, others say Open Standard. It matters, because the issuer is the entity you redeem with and the one a regulator supervises.
- **Chains.** The announcement does not list the blockchains. Launch coverage reports Base, Ethereum, Solana and Tempo.
- **The numbers.** The management fee and the yield split between partners are not stated.
- **The partner list.** Shortly after the announcement, several Korean companies listed as partners — Samsung, Shinhan, Dunamu and K Bank — were reported as saying they had not formally agreed to join. Korean coverage on 1 October then reported Samsung and Dunamu as participating, without detail on their roles. Read “140 companies” as “140 listed partners”: a listing can mean anything from a launch integration to an expression of interest.

## What it means for a business that accepts stablecoin payments

Nothing changes today. Customers who pay in a stablecoin overwhelmingly pay in USDT or USDC, and the network they choose usually decides the asset — see [USDT on TRC-20, ERC-20 and BEP-20 compared](https://www.payaries.com/blog/usdt-trc20-vs-erc20-vs-bep20). If OUSD gains share, it will be because large platforms such as Stripe make it the default for their merchants. When it reaches you, run it through the same checks you would apply to any stablecoin:

1. **Which chains?** You can only accept what your customers can send on a network your wallets and your processor support.
2. **How do you get out?** Who redeems OUSD for dollars, at what fee, with what limits and delays? “Free to mint and redeem” is Open Standard's statement about businesses; check the terms that apply to you.
3. **What backs it, and who checks?** Ask for the reserve breakdown, the custodians and the latest attestation.
4. **Where does it trade?** Launch coverage names Coinbase, Kraken and Uniswap. Liquidity decides what a large conversion costs.
5. **What is its legal status?** Ask the issuer how it fits the GENIUS Act and your own jurisdiction.

> **Where Payaries stands.** Payaries accepts a fixed list of assets on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Tron and Bitcoin, including USDT and USDC; the live list is `GET /v1/chains`. OUSD is not on it. It is reported to run on Base, Solana and Tempo as well as Ethereum, so only an Ethereum deployment would overlap with Payaries's chains. If OUSD circulates as an ERC-20 token you can ask for it as a [custom token](https://www.payaries.com/custom-token-payments), which is approved by review. Nothing here is a commitment to support it.

The fair case for the shared model is neutrality and a wide distribution network. The fair case against is that it is new, its governance has never been tested in a crisis, and a consortium of 140 can be slower to act than one issuer. A stablecoin earns trust through years of holding its peg, not through its partner list. Compare payment tools on the same basis in [how to choose a crypto payment gateway](https://www.payaries.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-crypto-payment-gateway).

## Sources and as-of date

> **Written 18 October 2026.** From the sources below. The story is days old and details are still emerging — check Open Standard's own documentation before you rely on any figure here. Payaries is a technology platform, not an adviser. This article reports public information and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules and facts in these stories are changing — read the primary sources linked below and take advice from a qualified local professional before you act.

- [Introducing Open USD — Open Standard](https://joinopenstandard.com/blog/introducing-open-usd) (announcement, 30 June 2026)
- [Visa, Mastercard and 140 firms launch Open USD — The Next Web](https://thenextweb.com/news/open-usd-stablecoin-visa-mastercard-consortium)
- [Consortium including Visa, Mastercard jointly launch new global stablecoin — Reuters via US News](https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2026-06-30/consortium-including-visa-mastercard-jointly-launch-new-global-stablecoin)
- [What is Open USD and what does it mean for stablecoins? — CoinShares](https://coinshares.com/us/insights/research-data/what-is-open-usd-and-what-does-it-mean-for-stablecoins/)
- [OUSD stablecoin goes live — Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrielalinzainescu/2026/09/30/ousd-stablecoin-goes-live-with-visa-mastercard-and-stripe-behind-it/)
- [Payment giants launch Open USD — PYMNTS](https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2026/payment-giants-launch-open-usd-stablecoin-to-kill-conversion-fees/)
- [Samsung, Korean firms deny Open USD partnership — BeInCrypto](https://beincrypto.com/samsung-korean-firms-deny-open-usd-partnership/) and [Samsung, Shinhan join Open USD network — The Korea Herald](https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10794807)

## Questions

**What is Open USD (OUSD)?**
A dollar stablecoin from Open Standard, announced on 30 June 2026 with more than 140 listed partners including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock. Its stated design is free minting and redemption for businesses, reserve income shared with partners and a board made up of the partners.

**Is Open USD live?**
Launch-week coverage, including Forbes and PYMNTS, reports it went live on 30 September 2026, with integration paths through Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard and Visa and not all of them live at once. Check Open Standard's own site for the current status.

**Who issues OUSD?**
Coverage differs: some outlets say Bridge, the stablecoin company Stripe owns, others say Open Standard, which describes itself as an independent company. Confirm the legal issuer in Open Standard's documents before you rely on a redemption promise.

**Does Open USD pay interest to holders?**
Open Standard says reserve earnings go to its partners, less a management fee. It does not say holders are paid, and the US GENIUS Act, as CoinShares reads it, bars issuers from paying yield directly to holders.

**Can I accept OUSD with Payaries?**
Not today. OUSD is not on Payaries's asset list, which is available live from GET /v1/chains. If it circulates as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, you can request it as a custom token, which is approved by review.

## Try it

Run a real invoice before you commit: [Payaries — www.payaries.com](https://www.payaries.com/signup). Payaries is a multi-chain crypto payment gateway — https://www.payaries.com

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- https://www.payaries.com/blog/usdt-trc20-vs-erc20-vs-bep20 — USDT on TRC-20, ERC-20 and BEP-20: what changes for a merchant
- https://www.payaries.com/custom-token-payments — Custom token payments: bring your own ERC-20, BEP-20 or TRC-20 token
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/what-is-crypto — What is crypto? Explained simply
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- https://www.payaries.com/guides/custodial-vs-non-custodial-payment-gateway — Managed vs self-held crypto payment gateways
- https://www.payaries.com/blog/india-gold-import-duty-2026 — India's gold squeeze: the duty hike, the appeal not to buy and the sovereign gold bond question