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Key Takeaways
- Mastercard will support six regulated stablecoins, USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD, USDG, USDP, and SoFiUSD for settlement across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL.
- Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei are among the first participants.
- The expanded framework enables intraday, weekend, holiday, and on-chain settlement, addressing the limitations of traditional batch settlement tied to standard banking hours.
Mastercard announced Wednesday it will expand its settlement network to support regulated U.S. dollar stablecoins alongside its existing fiat processes, offering card issuers and merchant acquirers new options that include intraday, weekend, holiday, and on-chain settlement. The company said it will initially support Circle’s USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG and USDP, Ripple’s RLUSD, and SoFiUSD, available across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL.
Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei to Be Among the First Participants in the U.S. and Latin America
Several financial institutions are expected to participate in the initial rollout of Mastercard’s stablecoin settlement capabilities. Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei are slated to be among the first to support stablecoin settlement, with early availability covering the U.S. and Latin America.
The new capabilities are designed to operate alongside Mastercard’s existing fiat settlement infrastructure rather than replacing it. Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets, said in a statement:
“The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most.”
New Framework Addresses Limits of Batch Settlement Tied to Standard Banking Hours
Under the traditional card transaction model, authorization happens instantly but settlement between banks and payment providers takes place later in batches and is constrained by standard banking hours.
Mastercard’s expanded framework is designed to move the network closer to an always-on model where value can be transferred and settled at any time, including on weekends and holidays and directly on-chain.
The six blockchain networks supported at launch include Ethereum and Solana, alongside Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL. Mastercard said the multi-network approach is designed to give participants settlement options regardless of which stablecoin or blockchain their counterparties use.
Circle, Ripple, and Paxos Stablecoins Included Alongside SoFiUSD and USDG
The initial stablecoin lineup draws from multiple issuers. Circle’s USDC and Ripple’s RLUSD are included alongside Paxos-issued PYUSD and USDP, USDG, and SoFiUSD. Mastercard described the lineup as spanning the current regulated stablecoin landscape, covering the major U.S. dollar-pegged tokens in active institutional use.
