Mastercard plans to expand card settlement with regulated stablecoins and more flexible timing windows

Mastercard said it will expand the settlement options available across its global card payments network, adding new timing flexibility (intraday, weekend and holiday) and enabling settlement using regulated stablecoins. The company framed the upgrade as a way to give issuers and acquirers more choice in how and when they settle card transactions, particularly for payments where timing and liquidity matter.

The new capabilities are designed to operate alongside existing fiat settlement processes rather than replace them. Mastercard said its global network already supports a range of settlement models and that the enhancements will continue to run alongside current approaches, giving partners more flexibility while maintaining existing safeguards such as security standards, fraud controls, and dispute processes.

On the stablecoin side, Mastercard said it will support settlement using regulated stablecoins including Circle’s USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG and USDP, Ripple’s RLUSD, and SoFi’s SoFiUSD. The firm said these stablecoins will be enabled across multiple blockchain networks, including Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo and XRPL.

Mastercard also tied the update to a broader “always-on” settlement premise, saying the intraday and weekend options are meant to help partners operate in a 24/7 digital economy while keeping the trust and resilience expected from Mastercard. In remarks included with the announcement, Mastercard Executive Vice President for Blockchain and Digital Assets Raj Dhamodharan said the next phase of stablecoin adoption is focused on real-world utility in settlement, where timing and liquidity are most important.

For early implementation, Mastercard named a set of partners expected to support the stablecoin settlement option in the United States and Latin America. Those organizations include ARQ (formerly DolarApp), CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank and Nuvei, with Mastercard stating that further expansion is planned through 2026.

The announcement also included comments from several stablecoin and institutional ecosystem partners. Circle’s chief commercial officer Kash Razzaghi said faster and more flexible movement of money is driving demand for infrastructure that works beyond traditional banking hours, and that Mastercard’s expanded settlement capabilities support that need through USDC. Paxos, Ripple and Cross River similarly positioned the move as a step toward integrating on-chain payment rails into established financial infrastructure.

Mastercard did not provide a detailed rollout schedule by country, processor, or card program, and the company said the expanded settlement capabilities will continue to roll out globally subject to regulation. It also did not describe whether the intraday and holiday/weekend fiat settlement options are available immediately for all Mastercard participants or only for specific corridors and products.

What to watch next is how quickly Mastercard’s partners implement the optioned settlement flows in production and whether adoption expands beyond the first named institutions and regions. Observers will likely focus on which regulated stablecoins gain traction in settlement use cases (including cross-border payouts and treasury operations), and whether other network participants and processors follow Mastercard’s approach to “always-on” settlement windows.