SoFi Technologies, Inc. and Mastercard announced that stablecoin settlement is now live across SoFi Bank, N.A.'s debit and credit card program, bringing settlement through SoFiUSD—a stablecoin issued by a federally regulated bank—to Mastercard's global payments network. The go-live follows the partnership the two companies announced in March.

As part of the launch, SoFi Bank is migrating its entire $25 billion card program to stablecoin settlement of transactions using SoFiUSD, which the companies describe as the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank. Transactions went live on the blockchain as of the announcement.

According to the companies, the launch expands how issuers, acquirers, and merchants can manage settlement and liquidity through trusted payment infrastructure, while providing a path to broader adoption of bank-issued stablecoins in payments. It also demonstrates how bank-issued stablecoins can alongside existing payment infrastructure, helping bridge traditional financial systems and blockchain-based networks. Settlement is the stage of a card payment at which funds actually move among the banks and processors behind a transaction, so changes at that layer can shape how quickly businesses ultimately receive their money.

"In six months, SoFi and Mastercard took stablecoin settlement from an idea to a live product that materially improves how money moves for businesses," said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi. "Merchants do not need to hold stablecoins, build new infrastructure or change how they operate. Through SoFi's Big Business Banking platform, any merchant can receive settlement funds instantly in a SoFi Bank account and withdraw to cash around the clock and at zero cost. That means businesses have faster access to their money via the speed of blockchain, with the safeguards of a bank."

"Stablecoins become meaningful when they solve real problems that businesses face every day," said Sherri Haymond, Global Head of Digital Commercialization at Mastercard. "With SoFi, we're moving beyond exploration to implementation, bringing regulated stablecoin settlement into a live production environment while preserving the trust, scale and safeguards expected from Mastercard. This is another step toward giving businesses more choice in how money moves."

The milestone supports Mastercard's broader efforts to enable stablecoin settlement across its global payments network with a growing ecosystem of banks, fintechs, stablecoin issuers, and other partners.

Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens designed to hold a steady value against a reference asset, most commonly a fiat currency, and because they move on blockchain networks they can be transferred outside traditional banking hours. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. regulator that supervises national banks, and is fully redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, supported by reserves consisting primarily of cash. The stablecoin is available for institutional use and for use by SoFi members, supporting payments, settlement, and other financial applications.

While the launch marks a meaningful improvement in SoFi's own settlement operations, the product is not limited to use by SoFi Bank. SoFi is in active discussions with large merchants across the United States regarding stablecoin-based settlement arrangements, with prospective counterparties ranging from large multinational retailers to technology service platforms. SoFi and Mastercard will also explore additional opportunities for SoFiUSD settlement on Mastercard's network, including cross-border payments, remittances, and other money movement use cases.

Source: GlobalFinTechSeries