Rain Secures $24.5 Million from Norwest to Expand Global Stablecoin Card Issuing
Rain, a pioneering global card issuing platform powered by stablecoins, has announced the successful completion of a $24.5 million funding round. The round was led by Norwest Venture Partners, with additional participation from new investors such as Galaxy Ventures, Goldcrest, Thayer, and Hard Yaka. Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coinbase Ventures, Vinyl Capital, Canonical Crypto, and Latitude Capital also joined the round, underscoring strong continued support for Rain’s mission and growth trajectory.
As part of its expansion efforts, Rain also announced its newly acquired principal membership with Visa. This partnership allows the company to strengthen its presence in Europe while continuing to scale its existing card issuance capabilities across the United States and Latin America. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for Rain as it continues to redefine the landscape of stablecoin-powered payments.
A Rapidly Expanding Stablecoin Issuing Platform
Rain has developed a fully integrated issuing stack that enables it to sponsor and operate card programs across multiple jurisdictions. Unlike traditional payment solutions, Rain facilitates transactions that settle in stablecoins, allowing for greater efficiency and lower costs. Over the past year, the company has experienced remarkable growth, expanding its transaction volume by more than 15 times. Today, Rain’s card programs support transactions in over 100 countries, demonstrating the company’s increasing global footprint.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Farooq Malik, expressed enthusiasm about this new phase of expansion. “We have been serving large global businesses with our flexible issuing and stablecoin orchestration stack for the last several years. This new funding allows us to increase interoperability with existing rails, expand our footprint, and invest in our stablecoin authorization and settlement infrastructure that continues to unlock growth for our partners,” Malik stated.
Transforming Payments with Stablecoin Interoperability
Rain has positioned itself at the forefront of stablecoin-powered financial solutions by building a comprehensive infrastructure that seamlessly connects traditional fiat rails with blockchain technology. Businesses utilizing Rain’s platform can issue both business-to-business (B2B) and consumer cards—available in both physical and virtual formats—that are directly linked to self-custody wallets, custodial accounts, or traditional fiat-based financial systems.
One of the key advantages of Rain’s platform is that users do not need to convert their cryptocurrency holdings into fiat before making transactions. This is made possible through Rain’s omni-chain stack, which enables native settlement across multiple blockchain networks. These include Base, Polygon, Optimism, Avalanche, Arbitrum, ZKsync, and Solana. This infrastructure allows Rain to process stablecoin and floating-rate token settlements daily, ensuring a seamless and efficient payment experience for businesses and consumers alike.
By leveraging stablecoins for settlement, Rain eliminates the inefficiencies and high costs associated with traditional financial systems, making cross-border transactions faster, more affordable, and more transparent. This is particularly valuable in regions where traditional banking systems are slow, costly, or inaccessible.
Strategic Partnership with Visa: Enabling a New Era of Digital Payments
Rain’s recently announced principal membership with Visa is a game-changing development for the company. As a Visa Principal Member, Rain can directly issue cards on the Visa network, giving businesses more flexibility in how they structure their payment programs. More importantly, as a native stablecoin enabler on Visa’s network, Rain’s clients can now develop and manage new types of card programs that do not rely on traditional fiat payment rails.
This development aligns with Visa’s broader strategy of integrating blockchain technology into its payment infrastructure. By collaborating with stablecoin-native companies like Rain, Visa is expanding its capabilities in the digital currency space, further validating stablecoins as a viable medium for everyday transactions.
Visa’s involvement also reinforces Rain’s compliance with stringent financial regulations. Rain’s card issuing platform combines the compliance standards of traditional fiat payment systems with the efficiency and programmability of digital currencies, creating a hybrid model that meets the needs of both regulatory authorities and businesses seeking cutting-edge financial solutions.
The Growing Role of Stablecoins in the Financial Ecosystem
Stablecoins have gained increasing traction in recent years, with growing adoption across various industries. Regulatory bodies in multiple jurisdictions have begun to recognize the utility of stablecoins, providing clearer frameworks for their use. As a result, businesses and financial institutions are increasingly incorporating stablecoins into their payment and treasury management strategies.
Parker Barrile, Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, emphasized Rain’s pivotal role in this evolving financial landscape. “Stablecoin adoption is accelerating as regulators have shown support and use cases have proliferated, and Rain is at the forefront of this paradigm shift,” Barrile stated. “Rain’s card issuing platform combines fiat-grade compliance with the speed and flexibility of digital currency, and their traction with major financial institutions underscores their credibility, momentum, and market leadership.”
The global stablecoin market has grown exponentially, with billions of dollars in daily transaction volume. Stablecoins offer a unique advantage over traditional fiat currencies due to their ability to maintain price stability while benefiting from the efficiencies of blockchain technology. As regulatory clarity improves, stablecoins are expected to become a critical component of the broader financial system, further driving demand for platforms like Rain.
The Future of Rain: Expansion and Innovation
Looking ahead, Rain is focused on expanding its capabilities and geographic reach. The newly secured funding will enable the company to:
- Enhance Interoperability: Rain plans to improve its infrastructure to ensure even greater compatibility with existing financial rails and blockchain networks.
- Expand Its Global Footprint: With strong investor backing and its Visa Principal Membership, Rain aims to increase its presence in new markets, particularly in Europe and emerging economies.
- Invest in Infrastructure: A key priority is the continued development of Rain’s stablecoin authorization and settlement systems, ensuring seamless transactions across various blockchain ecosystems.
- Strengthen Regulatory Compliance: As stablecoin regulations continue to evolve, Rain is committed to maintaining best-in-class compliance measures to meet the needs of global financial institutions.
The company’s rapid growth and innovative approach position it as a leading player in the next generation of digital payments. By bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain-powered solutions, Rain is paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient global financial system.
