Mastercard Integrates Regulated Stablecoins Including USDC and Ripple's RLUSD for Global Card Settlement

Mastercard has announced a significant expansion of its settlement capabilities, allowing card issuers and acquirers to clear transactions using regulated stablecoins alongside traditional fiat rails. According to a company statement, the initiative supports assets including Circle's USDC, Paxos-issued tokens (PYUSD, USDG, USDP), Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFiUSD across networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and the XRP Ledger. By introducing intraday, weekend, and holiday settlement windows, Mastercard aims to enhance liquidity management for cross-border payments and treasury flows. Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s EVP for Blockchain, stated the move shifts stablecoins into core settlement infrastructure for an "always-on digital economy." The initial rollout targets the U.S. and Latin America, with a broader global expansion scheduled through 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Early partners include Nuvei and Cross River Bank. At the time of the announcement, XRP was trading at $1.24.