Mastercard Expands Into Stablecoins, Letting Businesses Settle Sales and Receive Payments in USDC

Mastercard will let businesses settle sales and receive payments in stablecoins such as Circle's USDC

Mastercard is integrating stablecoins into its payment network as U.S. regulators finalize crypto rules.

* Mastercard will let businesses settle sales and receive payments in stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC.

* The company is teaming up with payments processor Nuvei and coin issuers Circle and Paxos.

* A bipartisan bill, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed a Senate committee in March.

"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 stated in a press release.

Mastercard will work with OKX to launch a new card

Besides the settlement option, Mastercard announced a partnership with crypto exchange OKX to issue a new card. The payment processor already collaborates with MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance, Monavate, and Bleap.

The OKX Card by Mastercard will provide customers with a direct link to their crypto balances. As such, it will enable seamless integration with the exchange’s ecosystem.

"Connecting our industry-leading trading platform and Web3 wallet to Mastercard's vast network will create a seamless and valuable experience for our mutual customers," said Haobo, president of OKX. "We're excited to introduce this innovation to our community and expand the possibilities of cryptocurrency in everyday life."

The firm aims to enable spending at over 150 million merchant locations. On the business side, Mastercard specified that settlement will be expanding through Nuvei and Circle. Merchants will be able to receive proceeds in USDC, regardless of which payment method shoppers select at checkout.

"We're focused on providing the best possible experience for our merchants and shoppers and are excited to be working with Mastercard and Nuvei to integrate USDC for settlement," said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle. "This partnership marks a significant step forward in the evolution of digital currency and will unlock new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike."

A similar path is being prepared for tokens issued by Paxos.

To smooth 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 payment processor 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.