Mastercard Expands Settlement Network to Support Regulated Stablecoins

Mastercard expanded its global card-settlement network on June 3, 2026, to support regulated U.S. dollar stablecoins. The initiative allows card issuers and acquirers to clear transactions directly on-chain, bypassing traditional legacy batch processes to create an always-on finance model. The network introduces intraday, weekend, and holiday settlement options to improve liquidity management for financial institutions.

Supported stablecoins include Circle's USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG, and USDP, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFiUSD. These assets operate across eight blockchain networks: Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo, and the XRP Ledger. Initial deployment is focused on the United States and Latin America, with early adopters including Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei. The company plans to expand the service to additional regions throughout 2026, pending regulatory approval.

Concurrent reports indicate that Mastercard, Visa, and Stripe may be collaborating on a separate, larger stablecoin platform, with Coinbase Global reportedly exploring participation. This trend follows Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK and Stripe's $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge in 2024. While Visa has expanded its own stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains, the three payment giants have largely declined to comment on the reported joint initiative.