SoFi Technologies has partnered with Mastercard to enable settlement in its dollar-backed stablecoin, SoFiUSD, across Mastercard’s global payments network, allowing issuers and acquirers to settle card transactions using a bank-issued digital dollar.
Under the agreement, SoFi Bank N.A. plans to settle its own Mastercard credit and debit transactions in SoFiUSD, while SoFi’s payments technology platform Galileo will give client banks and card issuers the option to use the stablecoin for transaction settlement across the number two processor’s network.
The company said SoFiUSD is the first stablecoin issued by a US nationally chartered and insured deposit bank on a public, permissionless blockchain and would allow transactions to be settled 24 hours a day, seven days a week across Mastercard’s network.
SoFiUSD, launched in December, is issued by SoFi Bank, an OCC-regulated insured depository institution, and is backed 1:1 by cash reserves. Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network is expected to support the stablecoin alongside fiat currencies, tokenized deposits and other digital assets.
The companies said they will also explore additional use cases, including cross-border remittances, business-to-business transfers, programmable treasury applications and stablecoin-enabled card programs, subject to regulatory requirements and Mastercard network rules.
The move comes as Mastercard has been increasingly active in the stablecoin space. In November, the company partnered with Thunes to expand stablecoin wallet payouts through Mastercard Move, enabling near real-time transfers to regulated stablecoin wallets via Thunes’ Direct Global Network.
Rival Visa expands stablecoin settlement and payout infrastructure
Mastercard is not alone in integrating stablecoins into its payments infrastructure, with biggest processor Visa also widening its use of digital dollars across settlement and payout services.
In September, Visa began testing stablecoin-based cross-border settlement, launching a Visa Direct pilot that allows select banks to pre-fund international transfers using Circle’s USDC (USDC) and (EURC). The payments giant later expanded support to four stablecoins across four blockchains, enabling conversion into more than 25 fiat currencies.
Visa has also moved into direct stablecoin payouts. In November, it introduced a Visa Direct pilot allowing businesses to send funds straight to recipients’ stablecoin wallets, giving freelancers and marketplaces the option to receive USD-backed tokens instead of traditional bank transfers.
That expansion extended overseas last month when Netherlands-based Quantoz Payments became a principal Visa member, enabling it to issue Visa-branded debit cards backed by its regulated e-money tokens and support fintechs offering stablecoin-linked products in Europe.
The total stablecoin market cap at the time of writing was about $311.28 billion, per DefiLlama data. Transaction volumes grew to a record $969.9 billion in August 2025, with forecasts nearing $1 trillion monthly by December 2026, CoinLedger reported in September.
Context
Current positioning around DeFi & Stablecoins remains sensitive to primary-source updates, policy interpretation, and execution risk across major venues.
What To Watch
Key confirmation signals include sustained spot demand, funding stability, and whether price can hold reclaimed levels after headline-driven volatility.
If momentum weakens, traders will likely prioritize downside liquidity zones and risk-control positioning before adding new directional exposure.
