SoFi and Mastercard Partner to Enable SoFiUSD Settlement Across Mastercard’s Global Payments Network

WHY THIS MATTERS: This collaboration marks a significant advance in the TradFi-DeFi convergence, offering a viable solution to the perennial pain point of payments settlement lag. The critical factor is SoFiUSD’s status as a regulated stablecoin, issued by a nationally chartered U.S. bank. This unique regulatory foundation immediately elevates its trust profile, de-risking the use of digital assets for established financial institutions and merchants. By enabling card issuers and acquirers on Mastercard’s network to settle transactions using this digital dollar, the two firms are fundamentally addressing the sluggish and costly multi-day cycle inherent in traditional clearing systems. This move provides a 24/7 mechanism for global value transfer, unlocking immediate benefits for high-volume, cross-border remittances and B2B money movement. This is the moment when bank-grade digital currency transitions from theoretical possibility to core payments utility.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. announced an enhanced partnership with Mastercard to enable SoFiUSD as a settlement option across Mastercard’s global payments network. SoFiUSD, the company’s fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin, is the first stablecoin offered by a U.S. nationally chartered and insured deposit bank on a public, permissionless blockchain.

Together, the companies will explore how issuers and acquirers can settle card-based transactions with Mastercard using SoFiUSD, enabling fast settlement options for Mastercard customers and unlocking faster money movement for use cases such as cross-border remittances and B2B money transfers.

SoFiUSD is also expected to be supported across the Mastercard Multi-Token Network (MTN), the company’s digital asset platform that helps connect traditional money with digital assets. This integration aims to support interoperability across fiat currencies, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits, while delivering greater choice.

In addition, SoFi Bank, N.A. is expected to settle its credit and debit transactions powered by the Mastercard network in SoFiUSD. Galileo, SoFi’s technology platform, is expected to be among the first to offer its payment card clients and their issuing banks the choice to settle transactions in SoFiUSD.

Mastercard and SoFi are committed to exploring additional interoperability use cases across stablecoins, fiat, and tokenized assets, including programmable treasury applications and additional money movement and payout scenarios.

“SoFiUSD is at the heart of our strategy to make it faster, cheaper, and safer for people around the world to move money,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi. “With SoFiUSD as a settlement currency across Mastercard’s network, card issuers and acquirers can more easily enable the millions of businesses they serve around the globe to instantly settle transactions, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is only the beginning of our efforts to bring SoFi’s bank-grade infrastructure to digital commerce.”

“By working with SoFi to enable SoFiUSD across the Mastercard network, we’re expanding how trusted digital currencies can be used at global scale,” said Sherri Haymond, Global Head of Digital Commercialization, Mastercard. “Bringing stablecoin settlement on our network will connect regulated stablecoins with the reliability, security, and reach that consumers, businesses and financial institutions expect. And this effort expands choice and flexibility across the payments ecosystem in how people pay or get paid.”

Stablecoins are a fast-growing force in global financial services. Roughly $30 billion is transacted per day, and stablecoin issuance in 2025 doubled from the prior year. More than half of people with crypto holdings say they have held stablecoins in the past 12 months, and more than 75% say they’d open a stablecoin wallet if their bank or fintech app offered one.

SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., an OCC-regulated insured depository institution, and fully reserved 1:1 by cash for immediate redemption capability, offering liquidity to merchants and issuers in Mastercard’s network. Over time, SoFi and Mastercard expect to explore additional opportunities to drive adoption of SoFiUSD, including stablecoin-enabled card programs and cross-border remittances and disbursements, subject to regulatory considerations and Mastercard network rules. More information about SoFiUSD is available at http://www.sofi.com/crypto/sofiusd.

FF NEWS TAKE: This partnership absolutely moves the needle, serving as a watershed moment for the adoption of regulated stablecoins as wholesale settlement currency. This integration provides the missing regulatory piece required for broad institutional uptake within a major card network’s architecture. The market should watch closely how quickly Galileo’s payment card clients adopt SoFiUSD for settlement; rapid adoption there will pressure competitors to launch their own bank-backed digital dollar solutions. Furthermore, the exploration of programmable treasury applications hints at the profound, next-generation potential beyond simple card settlement.