Mastercard announced that it will add regulated USD stablecoin settlement to its existing fiat currency settlement process and extend settlement hours to include intraday trading, weekends, and holidays. This indicates that the clearing system behind bank card payments is moving towards a more 24/7 operating model.
The first batch supports multiple stablecoins
The initial stablecoins included are USDC issued by Circle, PYUSD, USDG, and USDP issued by Paxos, as well as RLUSD and SoFiUSD from Ripple. Mastercard stated that these assets will be used for settlement arrangements between card issuers and acquirers.
Corresponding blockchain networks include Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL. The new scheme will operate in parallel with existing fiat currency settlements, allowing financial institutions to choose different paths based on their liquidity needs, rather than directly replacing the existing system.
Settlement extended to non-business hours
Traditional bank card transactions can usually be authorized instantly, but the final settlement between banks and payment institutions is often processed in batches and is limited by weekdays and business hours. The core of Mastercard's adjustment is to extend settlement capabilities to intraday, weekend, holiday, and on-chain environments.
The company stated that this will provide issuers and acquirers with more flexibility in fund allocation, particularly suitable for cross-border payments and scenarios requiring faster settlement. Raj Dhamodharan, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at Mastercard, indicated that the next phase of stablecoin adoption will focus on real-world payment and settlement applications.
The initial participants covered the Americas.
Mastercard stated that Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei will be among the first participants, covering the US and Latin American markets. The initial participants are primarily banks and payment companies, indicating that stablecoins are increasingly being seen as an instant, cross-border settlement tool by more institutions.
- The first batch of supported stablecoins includes USDC and PYUSD.
- The first networks to be covered include Ethereum and Solana.
- The initial participating institutions cover the US and Latin American markets.
Additional information:The article mentions that issuers such as Circle, Ripple, and Paxos are continuously pushing stablecoins into cross-border payments and corporate fund management scenarios, and competition among payment networks for settlement infrastructure is intensifying.
