Virtual accounts in the World App, initially piloted in the US, are now reportedly available in more nations such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and across Latin America. World App users are now able to access a new capability: personal virtual account numbers that connect their everyday financial life to the always-on digital economy.
With virtual accounts, enabled by Bridge, users can “receive paychecks directly in World App (without an employer needing to navigate across blockchains or understand network fees), add funds from their bank.”
After the funds are in users’ World Wallet, they can “send or spend the USDC globally.” Every deposit is converted to USDC and ready “to move without borders, banking hours, or fees.”
Although traditional banking infrastructure struggles with cross-border complexity, time zones, World App offers global “24/7 finance that just works.”
The launch arrives as World App’s momentum continues to move forward steadily, with “37,762,611 users and more than 850 million transactions processed.”
Virtual accounts provide an on-ramp to this digital ecosystem.
Powered by Bridge (a Stripe company), virtual accounts offer institutional-security while keeping deposits “self-custodial.”
This is where traditional systems meet “the possibility of blockchain tech – without requiring users to navigate technical complexity.”
As AI adoption accelerates worldwide, people now have “access to financial infrastructure built for this era.”
Virtual accounts bring borderless finance with USDC to “every corner of the world where humans are building the future.”
According to the update from World, we now all stand at the so-called intersection of “human potential and artificial intelligence, and the tools we use to store, move, and grow our economic value must evolve.”
Virtual accounts are about participating in “a financial system designed for the future we’re collectively building.”
World is described as the real human network.
As noted in the update, someone signs up for World App “every 1.7 seconds.”
Every 3.6 seconds, someone “verifies at an Orb.”
In September of this yaer, World App reportedly became the “most-used self-custody digital wallet globally by monthly active users.”
Two billion Mini App opens in “over a year.”
The new World App is a reimagination of “how humans connect, move digital assets and participate in the global economy.”
Connection begins with conversation.
World Chat is available “natively to World App users.”
Secured by XMTP, it brings “proof of human, global payments and Mini Apps in a single experience. ”
Users can send or request payments “across continents in individual chats.”
They can split bills in group chats and track who’s paid.
All transfers are said to be borderless and instant.
With this update, Mini Apps enter the chat.
Now third-party apps – such as prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, games and savings tools – now run “inside message threads, “enabling interactive experiences without leaving the chat.”
And privacy runs deep. World Chat is end-to-end encrypted and “collects no metadata about who you message or when.”
Users’ conversations remain theirs alone, “creating a messaging experience built for authenticity, privacy, and human connection.”
There is one global account: borderless payments and new Earn product
Seamless payments “in chat are just the beginning.”
World App lets users access and use digital assets “across borders with simplicity and confidence all from within the app.”
Virtual accounts, powered by Bridge, are now available in 18 countries including the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and across Latin America.
Each user receives a “unique,” personal account number that “connects their everyday financial life to the global digital economy — and moves at the speed of the internet.”
Users can receive paychecks directly in World App without “an employer needing to navigate blockchains or understand network fees.”
They can add funds from your bank via supported partners.
US Dollar deposits can be “converted to USDC and sent or used across supported countries, 24/7 without waiting for traditional banking hours.”
World App does not charge a fee for these transfers, and for people worldwide, this represents “access to a dollar stablecoin account for the first time.”
Once funds are in the app, hold and convert between “supported digital currencies with no additional fee from World App for in-app conversions.”
World App is now adding support “for EURC (Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin), wMXN, wARS, wCLP, wBRL, wPEN and wCOP (backed by Ripio) to round out the expanding list of options joining USDC.”
The Earn feature lets users “move eligible assets into an Earn balance and receive variable rewards, with verified humans currently eligible to earn over 15% APY on your first $1,000 in USDC and 18% APY on your first 1,000 WLD.”
Traditional banks offer “fractions of a percent; common crypto products pass through 4 percent.”
Although rates may vary and are not guaranteed, Earn uses proof of human to help limit multiple-account abuse, “so each verified human can access the same reward opportunities.”
Earn now reportedly works for Worldcoin, USDC, EURC, wARS, Bitcoin and Ethereum at launch, with “more assets to follow.”
Beyond Earn, access, swap and trade across “more than 100 supported assets. Major cryptocurrencies, World Chain native tokens and a real-world asset – tokenized gold – are all available now.”
Users can pay at various merchants in Argentina using QR codes.
World Card, launching in Q1, will bring Apple Pay and tap-to-pay to the US and beyond.
As part of this rollout, World ID is introducing various new capabilities:
- Verified human badge: A new badge helps users build trust and reduce impersonation on dating platforms
- Privacy-preserving age assurance: Individuals can now prove they are above a certain age without revealing identity details
- Tinder integration:Â Tinder now utilizes the verified human badge and privacy-preserving age verification, starting in Japan
World App now reportedly brings together “proof of human, borderless finance and an open platform – all in one place.” This is described in the update from World Network as a new place where “humans connect, transact and build together.”
The new World App begins rolling out globally now.