Consumer interest in using stablecoins for everyday spending, travel and cross-border transfers is growing across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, according to a new survey conducted by Visa (V).

The payments giant said its research found that nearly half of APAC's 2.5 billion consumers are open to starting to use fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies — digital tokens designed to hold a steady value against currencies such as the U.S. dollar — within the next five years.

"We're seeing a meaningful shift in how consumers across Asia Pacific think about stablecoins," said Nischint Sanghavi, head of digital currencies at Visa's APAC division. He explained that although consumers have limited knowledge of stablecoins, their interest in adopting them continues to rise.

Visa surveyed 14,250 people for the study. About half of the respondents said they believed stablecoins could only be used to buy or sell other cryptocurrencies.

According to the findings, 46% of consumers interviewed are likely to use stablecoins within the next five years, compared with 16% who have used them in the past 12 months. About 49% believe stablecoins could become a common way to move money across borders within the next five years.

Despite the growing interest, the gap between awareness and understanding remains wide. Only 6% of respondents demonstrated an accurate understanding of how stablecoins work, Visa said, while 49% of those aware of the tokens thought they could only be used to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Among respondents who were aware of stablecoins but had not used them, concerns about fraud and scams were the most commonly cited obstacle. Taken together, the numbers point to interest running well ahead of both understanding and hands-on experience, with education and trust the clearest hurdles the survey identifies for turning curiosity into everyday payments.

Stablecoin providers, banks and card networks are competing for a payments opportunity in a region with about2.5 billion middle-class consumers, according to the Asia Business Council. Asia already leads global stablecoin flows and on-chain activity, and payment companies are working to turn that demand into everyday products, according to CoinDesk research.

Visa itself has expanded its stablecoin settlement network and is seeking to support a wider range of tokens and blockchains. Its partner Reap is also preparing local-currency stablecoins for 24/7 foreign-exchange settlement in Asia and other markets, including potential Hong Kong dollar, won and yen tokens — products that line up with the cross-border use case 49% of respondents expect to become common.

"Consumers are beginning to see how stablecoins could support the ways they already spend and move money," Sanghavi said. "The opportunity now is to turn that interest into trusted and familiar payment experiences that work at scale."

He added that the research confirms what Visa has been building toward. How the 16% past-year usage figure moves against the 46% who say they intend to start will be one of the clearest measures of whether the region's stablecoin interest converts into everyday payments.