Mastercard has announced that it will let businesses settle sales and receive payments in stablecoins like Circle’s USDC. This move extends its card network deeper into crypto as governments continue moves to clear rules for the sector.
In its announcement, the company said it will offer merchants the choice to accept stablecoin payments. To make that possible, Mastercard will partner with payments processor Nuvei and the coin issuers Circle and Paxos.
The move comes after United States lawmakers introduced the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act. The bipartisan bill passed a Senate committee in March, hoping to set ground rules for dollar-pegged crypto tokens. Standard Chartered Bank recently mentioned that the global stablecoin market could rise to $2 trillion within three years once the legislation takes effect.
“With increasing global regulatory clarity, stablecoins are evolving from crypto trading tools to essential solutions that bring efficiency and programmability to payments, disbursements, and remittances,” MasterCard said in its press release.
MasterCard to team up with OKX to launch new card
Aside from the settlement option, Mastercard also announced its plan to issue a new card in partnership with the crypto exchange OKX. The card company already works with MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance, Monavate, and Bleap.
The OKX Card, designed by Mastercard, will allow customers directly access their crypto balances. OKX said connecting its trading platform and Web3 tools to Mastercard’s network should make it easier to use stablecoins for everyday shopping. The firm has revealed plans to enable stablecoin spending using traditional cards at more than 150 million merchant locations.
In the same vein, settlement is expanding through Nuvei and Circle. Merchants will be able to receive proceeds in Circle’s USD Coin, regardless of which payment method shoppers choose at checkout. A similar path is being prepared for tokens issued by Paxos.
To increase the ease of cross-border transfers, Mastercard has rolled out Crypto Credential. Users on partner exchanges such as Wirex, Bit2Me, Lirium, Notabene, Coins.ph, and Mercado Bitcoin can send or receive digital money with simple usernames. The firm also introduced the Multi-Token Network, or MTN, that ties ordinary deposit accounts to tokenized assets. Partners, including Ondo Finance, plus banks such as JPMorgan and Standard Chartered, are connected to MTN to test stablecoin and other digital assets.