SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) said stablecoin settlement is now live across SoFi Bank’s debit and credit card program, according to a September 22 announcement. The launch puts SoFiUSD, the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank, onto Mastercard’s global payments network, months after the two companies unveiled the partnership in March. The companies said it is the first time a U.S. national bank has gone live with stablecoin settlement across Mastercard’s network.
A $25 billion card program moves on-chain
As part of the rollout, SoFi Bank is migrating its entire card program, expected to process more than $25 billion in annualized volume, to stablecoin settlement using SoFiUSD. The bank said transactions are already live on the blockchain. SoFiUSD is issued by the OCC-regulated SoFi Bank, is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, and is backed by reserves consisting primarily of cash. SoFiUSD is available for institutional use and for use by SoFi members, supporting payments, settlement and other financial applications.
Instant settlement without new merchant infrastructure
SoFi said businesses will not need to change how they operate to use the service. “In six months, SoFi and Mastercard took stablecoin settlement from an idea to a live product that materially improves how money moves for businesses,” said Anthony Noto, SoFi’s chief executive. “Merchants do not need to hold stablecoins, build new infrastructure or change how they operate.” Through SoFi’s Big Business Banking platform, Noto added, any merchant can receive settlement funds instantly in a SoFi Bank account and withdraw to cash around the clock at zero cost.
Bank-issued stablecoins reach production payments
Mastercard said the milestone moves stablecoins from pilots to live use. “With SoFi, we’re moving beyond exploration to implementation, bringing regulated stablecoin settlement into a live production environment,” said Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s global head of digital commercialization. The launch extends a wave of bank-issued stablecoin payment efforts, from Wirex adding Tempo as a settlement layer for enterprise stablecoin cards to Coinbase and Moov bringing stablecoin payments to more than 1,000 community banks.
SoFi said it is in active discussions with large U.S. merchants about stablecoin-based settlement and, alongside Mastercard, will explore additional SoFiUSD use cases including cross-border payments and remittances.
