Mastercard is advancing its push into stablecoin-based payments, announcing an expansion of its settlement infrastructure that will let issuers and acquirers settle card transactions with regulated digital assets as well as traditional fiat rails.
The payments giant said it will roll out intraday, weekend and holiday settlement options and enable on-chain card settlement using regulated stablecoins. The goal: give Mastercard partners more flexibility over when and how transactions clear—an upgrade designed to matter most for cross-border payments, treasury operations and payouts that need faster, always-on liquidity.
Notably, Ripple’s RLUSD is included among the stablecoins Mastercard plans to support. Mastercard named a slate of regulated assets it will enable for settlement: Circle’s USDC; Paxos-issued coins including PYUSD, USDG and USDP; Ripple’s RLUSD; and SoFi’s SoFiUSD. These stablecoins will be supported across multiple blockchains, including Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo and the XRP Ledger.
The announcement repositions stablecoins from trading and liquidity tools to core back-end infrastructure for settlement. “The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Blockchain and Digital Assets. He added that intraday and weekend settlement options will help partners manage liquidity in an “always-on digital economy” while preserving Mastercard’s trust, resilience and safeguards.
Mastercard emphasized this is an addition to—not a replacement of—existing settlement rails. The firm described the rollout as a “network-level enhancement” that will maintain current security standards, fraud protections and dispute processes while offering digital-asset settlement as an alternative option.
Early implementation partners include ARQ (formerly DolarApp), CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank and payments processor Nuvei, with an initial focus on the United States and Latin America. Mastercard said broader expansion is planned through 2026, subject to regulatory approval, with more partners, regions and regulated stablecoins to be added over time.
Ripple framed RLUSD’s inclusion as a major validation for regulated stablecoins aimed at institutional payments. “This marks a landmark validation that blockchain technology is ready for the world’s most critical payment infrastructure,” said Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, arguing the move reflects growing demand for trusted, regulated stablecoins on public chains like the XRP Ledger.
Other industry voices highlighted the operational benefits. Circle’s chief commercial officer, Kash Razzaghi, noted rising demand for infrastructure that can operate beyond traditional banking hours, while Cross River’s Luca Cosentino called stablecoins “a powerful tool” for faster, more transparent settlement.
Market note: at press time XRP traded at $1.24.
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