Summary
- Mastercard is improving its stablecoin settlement capabilities for credit card transactions.
- The company will facilitate settlements using regulated stablecoins such as Circle's USDC, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFi's SoFiUSD.
- Settlements will be conducted on leading blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, and Base.
Mastercard is advancing the integration of stablecoins into mainstream finance by enhancing its settlement capabilities for credit card transactions through regulated stablecoins like Ripple’s RLUSD and Circle’s USDC.
This enhancement will provide issuers and acquirers with more options for card settlements, including intraday, holiday, and weekend transactions, as Mastercard aims to support a continuous 24/7 economy.
Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard's Executive Vice President of Blockchain and Digital Assets, stated, “The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most. By introducing intraday and weekend settlement options across our global network, we’re expanding how partners manage liquidity and operate in an always-on digital economy.”
The expansion builds on Mastercard's existing collaboration with Circle regarding the dollar-backed stablecoin, USDC, which has already been deployed for settlements in specific markets. Last fall, Mastercard also partnered with Ripple and Gemini to explore transaction settlements on the XRP Ledger using RLUSD.
Furthermore, Mastercard will incorporate stablecoin settlements from Paxos-issued tokens such as PYUSD, USDG, USDP, and the newly introduced SoFiUSD from neobank SoFi.
Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer at Circle, remarked, “As demand grows for faster and more flexible movement of money, organizations are increasingly seeking infrastructure that can operate beyond traditional banking hours. Mastercard’s expanded settlement capabilities help meet that need, offering greater choice in how value is transferred and settled.”
Settlement will be available on several blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, the payment-focused Tempo, the XRP Ledger, and Base, which is Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network.
Initially, transactions in the U.S. and Latin America will be supported by ARQ (formerly DolarApp), CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei, with plans for further expansion throughout the year.
Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple, commented, “Mastercard’s move into on-chain settlement is a landmark validation that blockchain technology is ready for the world’s most critical payment infrastructure.”
As of Wednesday, Mastercard’s shares have seen a decline of approximately 2.6%, trading around $464.87.