Global payments giant Mastercard today announced a significant leap forward in the adoption of stablecoins, unveiling a comprehensive suite of capabilities designed to power stablecoin transactions from digital wallets to merchant checkouts. The company’s latest strategic partnerships with cryptocurrency exchange OKX and payment processor Nuvei aim to create a seamless ecosystem where consumers can easily spend stablecoins and merchants can readily accept them.
As global regulatory frameworks for stablecoins gain clarity, Mastercard is positioning itself at the forefront of this evolving landscape. Recognizing the potential of stablecoins to move beyond crypto trading and become crucial for efficient payments, disbursements, and remittances, the company is focused on ensuring widespread accessibility and utility.
Mastercard’s new end-to-end approach encompasses several key areas:
- Wallet enablement, card issuing and acceptance: Through collaborations with major crypto platforms like MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance, Monavate, and Bleap, Mastercard is enabling consumers to seamlessly use their stablecoin holdings via traditional cards at over 150 million Mastercard-accepting merchants globally. Furthermore, Mastercard Move will allow users to easily withdraw stablecoins to their bank accounts.
- Differentiated value through cards and beyond: A notable partnership with OKX will see the launch of the OKX Card, providing millions of users with convenient access to their digital assets. The two companies will also explore further opportunities to integrate digital assets into everyday life and onboard more users to the Web3 ecosystem.
- Merchant settlement: Addressing the growing interest in digital assets for settlements, Mastercard is collaborating with Nuvei and Circle to allow merchants the option to receive payments in stablecoins like Circle’s USDC, regardless of the payment method used by the consumer. Mastercard is also working closely with Paxos to extend this functionality to Paxos-issued stablecoins.
- On-chain remittances: Recognizing the speed and cost-effectiveness of stablecoins for cross-border transactions, Mastercard Crypto Credential aims to simplify and secure this process. By enabling crypto exchange users to send and receive digital assets using simple and trusted usernames, it addresses current complexities. Wirex, Bit2Me, Lirium, Notabene, Coins.ph, and Mercado Bitcoin have already joined this initiative.
- Powering more efficient payments and commerce applications: The Mastercard Multi-Token Network (MTN) is designed to facilitate real-time payments and redemptions, allowing partners like Ondo Finance to leverage tokenized assets. JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered are currently connected to MTN, exploring new digital asset use cases.
Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, emphasized the potential of stablecoins for mainstream adoption, stating, “To realize its potential, we need to make it as easy for merchants to receive stablecoin payments and for consumers to use them. We believe in the potential of stablecoins to streamline payments and commerce across the value chain. Unlocking this is core to how we navigate the rapidly changing world, giving people and businesses the freedom they want by providing the choices they deserve.”
Echoing this sentiment, Haider Rafique, chief marketing officer at OKX, said, “Our strategic partnership with Mastercard to launch the OKX Card reflects our commitment to making digital finance more accessible, practical, and relevant to everyday life. Together, we’re taking a significant step toward integrating stablecoins into daily transactions and creating richer experiences—while bringing new users on-chain through OKX’s leadership in crypto trading and our growing Web3 ecosystem.”
Phil Fayer, chief executive officer of Nuvei, added, “By partnering with Mastercard and Circle, we’re embracing cutting-edge technologies to enhance how our merchants handle payments and settlements. These collaborations allow us to offer innovative solutions that bridge traditional and digital finance, helping our merchants grow and thrive in today’s fast-evolving global market.”
