Mastercard Expands Stablecoin Settlement to Enable 24/7 Payments

Mastercard is expanding its settlement infrastructure to support intraday, weekend, and holiday processing using both fiat currencies and regulated stablecoins across its global payments network.

The company said Wednesday that issuers and acquirers will be able to settle card transactions outside traditional banking hours while continuing to operate within existing settlement frameworks.

The rollout includes support for multiple regulated dollar-backed tokens, including USD Coin (USDC), PayPal USD (PYUSD), Global Dollar (USDG), Pax Dollar (USDP), Ripple USD (RLUSD) and SoFiUSD.

Settlement will be enabled across multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Canton Network, Tempo and the XRP Ledger.

Card rails move beyond banking hours

Mastercard said the updated system allows financial institutions to process settlement activity outside standard banking schedules while preserving compatibility with existing settlement rails.

The company emphasized that fraud controls, dispute resolution processes, security standards, and interoperability layers remain intact across its global payments ecosystem.

Early participants include ARQ, CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank and Nuvei, with expansion planned across the U.S. and Latin America through 2026.

Stablecoin infrastructure becomes embedded in payments strategy

The expansion builds on Mastercard’s broader push into tokenized settlement infrastructure.

The company previously secured a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, enabling regulated activity involving tokenized deposits and payment stablecoins in New York.

It also signed a definitive agreement to acquire stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion and recently granted principal membership to stablecoin card issuer Rain.

Payment networks converge on stablecoin settlement

Rival networks are pursuing similar strategies as stablecoin settlement becomes a core infrastructure theme in payments.

Visa has expanded stablecoin-linked settlement pilots across multiple blockchain networks, while MoneyGram introduced its own stablecoin, MGUSD, on the Stellar network.

Total supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins is nearing $300 billion. Tether (USDT) remains the largest issuer with about $188 billion in circulation, followed by USD Coin (USDC) at roughly $76 billion.

Rather than treating stablecoins as an alternative payment method, global financial infrastructure providers are increasingly integrating them into backend settlement systems, where faster settlement times, 24/7 availability, and blockchain interoperability offer advantages over traditional banking rails.

As stablecoin regulation advances across major jurisdictions, the competition among payment networks is increasingly moving beyond card issuance and merchant acceptance toward control of the next generation of settlement infrastructure.