Payments giant enables card transaction settlement using USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD across eight blockchains
Mastercard announced plans to expand its settlement capabilities, allowing card issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using regulated stablecoins including Circle’s USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD and USDP, Ripple’s RLUSD, and SoFi’s SoFiUSD.
The expansion supports settlement across Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo, and XRPL blockchains. Mastercard said the new options are designed to give its partners more flexibility in managing settlement liquidity and timing, including intraday, weekend, and holiday settlement windows.
The move follows Mastercard’s May 2026 acquisition of a New York BitLicense, which authorizes its US transaction services unit to conduct regulated digital asset business activity in New York. The license removes a regulatory barrier that previously prevented major payment networks from directly settling card transactions on-chain.
Early adopters are expected to include ARQ (formerly DolarApp), CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei, according to the announcement.
Visa’s pilot sets the pace
Mastercard’s expansion enters a competitive landscape where Visa has already demonstrated stablecoin settlement at scale. In April 2026, Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, up 50% from the previous quarter. That same month, Visa added five blockchains to its settlement infrastructure, bringing its total to nine supported networks.
The $320 billion stablecoin market has attracted infrastructure investment from remittance players as well. Western Union launched USDPT on Solana in the Philippines and Bolivia in early May 2026, with plans to expand the stablecoin in 2026. MoneyGram launched MGUSD on the Stellar network for treasury management settlement and currency trading in the United States earlier this week.
Regulatory tailwinds and liquidity optionality
Mastercard’s stablecoin settlement model relies on issuers that have secured regulatory approval in key jurisdictions. USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD all operate under established compliance frameworks, reducing counterparty risk for settlement participants.
By enabling settlement across multiple blockchains and stablecoins, Mastercard is positioning itself to capture settlement flow regardless of which stablecoin or blockchain its partners prefer. The flexibility around timing (intraday, weekend, holiday) addresses a core pain point in traditional card settlement, which operates on T+1 or longer cycles and excludes weekends and holidays.
The expansion does not immediately clarify which specific card transaction types will be eligible for stablecoin settlement, nor does it detail expected transaction volumes or adoption metrics. Mastercard has not announced a specific launch date for the capabilities.
