Shares of SoFi Technologies (SOFI) slipped 1.44% to $15.44 in Thursday intraday trading, even as the company announced a new partnership with Mastercard and Mexican fintech Orbi to introduce crypto-linked payment cards in Mexico. The stock shed $0.22 on the day but recovered from midday lows near $15.27. The move underscores the company's push to expand digital asset payments in Mexico.

SoFi Expands Crypto Payments Through Mastercard Deal in Mexico

SoFi Tech Solutions announced the partnership on October 8 to expand digital asset payments in Mexico. Under the program, Orbi customers can spend either traditional money or funds drawn from their cryptocurrency balances. Cryptocurrency is converted into fiat currency at the time of purchase, allowing merchants to receive conventional payments. That conversion-at-purchase design means merchants can accept digital-asset-funded spending without changing how they get paid, while cardholders gain a way to use crypto balances for routine purchases.

The arrangement combines SoFi's financial infrastructure with Mastercard's payment network and Orbi's digital financial services. SoFi Tech Solutions will manage card issuing, transaction processing, authorization, and compliance services, while Mastercard will provide payment network access to support everyday purchases across participating merchants.

Orbi customers will access their digital assets through physical and virtual Mastercard cards. The cards will also support cash withdrawals through Mastercard's domestic payment network in Mexico. In addition, the Mexico Domestic Switch will connect the program with existing payment infrastructure across the country.

Stablecoin Adoption Supports the Mexico Expansion

Mexico's large remittance market provides a commercial opportunity for companies developing digital payment services. Stablecoins offer another way to transfer funds across borders and to access dollar-linked digital assets. SoFi's partnership targets customers who want to use cryptocurrency for regular financial transactions.

According to Bitso, stablecoins represented 40% of cryptocurrency purchases across four Latin American markets during 2025, while Bitcoin accounted for 18% of purchases across Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. The figures marked the first time stablecoins exceeded Bitcoin in Bitso's regional purchase data — a shift consistent with the everyday-spending use case the SoFi-Mastercard-Orbi cards are built around.

SoFi also plans to support additional stablecoin payment services through its financial technology platform. Its SoFiUSD stablecoin forms part of the broader infrastructure supporting the partnership. The companies aim to connect digital asset transactions with established payment systems and cross-border money movement.

SoFi Tech Solutions Builds on Existing Banking Infrastructure

SoFi Tech Solutions brings experience from Galileo and Technisys to support its financial technology operations across Latin America. Galileo contributes more than 30 years of payment processing experience, while Technisys provides core banking technology. Together, these capabilities support digital banking, transaction management, lending services, and payment processing.

The platform offers card issuing, real-time payment controls, digital banking services, and fraud management tools. Financial institutions can select individual services or combine several products within their existing operations. SoFi supports money transfers through traditional banking channels as well as newer digital asset settlement systems.

Nearly 200 clients currently use SoFi Tech Solutions to operate financial products and services. Its infrastructure supports approximately 135 million accounts and has processed billions of transactions. Over the past three years, the platform has also supported money movement totaling trillions of dollars. For the Mexico program, that scale means card issuing, authorization, and compliance will run on infrastructure already proven across a large account base.

Despite the Mastercard announcement, SoFi Technologies shares remained lower during Thursday's trading session. The announcement detailed each partner's role but did not name a launch date or initial merchant roster, leaving the program's rollout timeline and participating-merchant base as details to track as Latin America's digital payments market develops. The session's stock performance showed that the announcement did not reverse the intraday decline.

Source: Blockonomi — SoFi Technologies (SOFI) Stock: Falls Despite Mastercard Deal in Mexico