Mastercard will let businesses settle sales and receive payments in stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC, extending its card network deeper into crypto as governments move closer to clear rules for the sector.
The company said today it will offer merchants the choice to accept stablecoin payments. To make that possible, Mastercard is teaming up with the payments processor Nuvei and the coin issuers Circle and Paxos.
This shift came after U.S. 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 and seeks to set ground rules for dollar-pegged crypto tokens. Standard Chartered Bank, in a recent note, said 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,” the payment processor said in its press release.
Mastercard will work with OKX to launch a new card
Alongside the settlement option, Mastercard disclosed a plan with the crypto exchange OKX to issue a new card. The payment processor already works with MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com, Binance, Monavate, and Bleap.
The OKX Card by Mastercard will give customers direct access to 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.
On the business side, 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 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.
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