NBX selects Tieto Banktech to support digital and physical payment cards for stablecoin users

The partnership marks a significant step in NBX´s plans to enable its customers to connect digital assets with everyday payment services. The card programme is intended to help users access value from their stablecoin holdings more conveniently, by reducing the number of manual steps typically involved in selling digital assets, converting them into fiat currency, and transferring funds for card-based spending.

Tieto Banktech will provide the card issuing and payments infrastructure supporting the card programme, including card administration, authorisations, secure PIN services, card production, and financial crime prevention capabilities such as transaction monitoring, scoring, and fraud monitoring.

For NBX, the planned functionality builds on the initial Visa prepaid card, laying the groundwork for more flexible, personalised payment experiences over time. Looking ahead, Tieto Banktech will also support Visa Flex functionality, leveraging Visa APIs alongside its own flexible credential technology, which integrates capabilities from both Visa and Mastercard.

NBX is Norway’s first publicly listed stablecoin exchange platform where customers can buy Bitcoin and trade digital assets including Ethereum, tokenised gold and other assets. NBX is registered as a stablecoin asset service provider with the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, and supports trading directly in Norwegian kroner. The company is also exploring international expansion, including potential markets such as Germany and Poland.

“Working with Tieto Banktech gives us access to proven card-issuing infrastructure and deep payments expertise as we expand the NBX offering for our customers,” said Stig Aleksander Kjos-Mathisen, CEO at NBX. “Our ambition is to build the ultimate all-in-one payment card, a single multicurrency card that turns the digital assets our customers already hold into everyday spending power. What sets us apart is that we issue our own MiCA-compliant stablecoins, so this isn’t a card sitting on top of stablecoin; it’s built around it. We are inviting our customers on a journey: it begins with spending stablecoins in the currency that suits them, and grows from there, adding new layers, including credit. The card is designed to evolve with our customers, staying at the centre of their day-to-day life.”

The partnership reflects a broader shift in European digital finance, where stablecoin-native platforms are increasingly looking beyond trading services to offer more familiar financial products. For exchanges, card issuing can create a stronger everyday customer relationship by connecting digital asset platforms with mainstream payment behaviour. For customers, virtual and physical cards can make digital asset platforms more practical as part of day-to-day financial life, while still relying on established card payment infrastructure.

“NBX represents a new type of fintech customer for our card issuing business and a new type of issuer in the Norwegian market,” said Aslak Lid, VP and Head of Cards at Tieto Banktech. “Our role is to provide trusted, scalable card issuing infrastructure and payments expertise that enables innovative companies to launch secure and convenient payment services. This partnership shows how our card platform and linked services can support new business models across fintech, digital banking and stablecoin-related services.”

The card programme is also supported by IDT Finance, a regulated issuing bank and Principal Member of Visa and Mastercard, acting as BIN sponsorship partner. Through this model, IDT Finance provides access to global payment networks and regulated issuing capabilities, enabling fintechs and programme managers to launch card programmes without their own banking licence or direct scheme membership.