Mastercard powers SoFi’s $25 billion card program with stablecoin payment settlement

3 hours ago 10

Mastercard and SoFi Technologies have flipped the switch on a new form of stablecoin payment settlement, folding blockchain infrastructure directly into a $25 billion debit and credit card program. The move, confirmed in a Tuesday, September 22 announcement, marks the moment stablecoin technology stops being a side experiment for crypto-curious banks and starts running through mainstream plastic.

Key takeaways

Mastercard and SoFi Technologies now use stablecoin settlement across SoFi Bank, N.A.’s entire debit and credit card program.
SoFi Bank is migrating its full $25 billion card program to settlement powered by SoFiUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin the bank issues itself.
SoFiUSD runs on a public, permissionless blockchain, letting money move 24/7 with near-instant settlement at what SoFi calls “fractional-cent pricing.”
Through SoFi’s Big Business Banking platform, merchants can pull settlement funds instantly and withdraw to cash around the clock at zero cost.
Mastercard and SoFi are already discussing expanding the model into cross-border payments and remittances.

Mastercard and SoFi Launch Stablecoin Settlement for SoFi Bank Cards

SoFi Bank is now settling transactions across its debit and credit card program using stablecoin rails rather than the traditional settlement pipes that have moved card money for decades. In a press release issued Tuesday, SoFi confirmed the shift covers the bank’s entire $25 billion card program, a scale that puts this well beyond a pilot or a niche feature.

Scope of card program migration

The migration means every debit and credit transaction processed under SoFi Bank, N.A. eventually clears through stablecoin payment settlement instead of relying solely on legacy banking rails. That is a meaningful shift for a program worth $25 billion, since it means the underlying settlement mechanics for a large slice of consumer and business spending are quietly being rebuilt on blockchain infrastructure while the card experience for cardholders themselves stays the same.

Details of the SoFiUSD stablecoin and its blockchain

At the center of the rollout sits SoFiUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued directly by SoFi Bank and paired with Mastercard’s global payments network. SoFi first launched SoFiUSD in December 2025, describing it at the time as a token built on a public, permissionless blockchain. That architecture, according to SoFi, lets partners move money 24/7 with near-instant settlement “at fractional-cent pricing,” a sharp contrast with the batch-processing delays and per-transaction fees typical of conventional card settlement.

This distinction matters because traditional card settlement can take longer to actually land in a merchant’s account, even though the purchase itself is authorized in seconds. Stablecoin settlement collapses that gap, and the fractional-cent cost structure removes much of the friction merchants and banks normally absorb behind the scenes.

Merchant Benefits with SoFi’s Big Business Banking Platform

The clearest, most immediate payoff from this shift lands on merchants, who can now receive settlement funds instantly and pull that money out as cash at any hour, at no cost. SoFi CEO Anthony Noto framed the change in blunt terms: “Through SoFi’s Big Business Banking platform, any merchant can receive settlement funds instantly in a SoFi Bank account and withdraw to cash around the clock and at zero cost.” He added that the setup gives businesses “faster access to their money via the speed of blockchain, with the safeguards of a bank.”

That last phrase captures the pitch fairly well. Merchants get blockchain-speed liquidity without stepping outside the regulated, insured world of a bank account. For a small business owner used to waiting days for card receipts to clear, having funds available instantly, at zero withdrawal cost, changes how they manage cash flow day to day.

Future Expansion Plans of Stablecoin Payment Settlement

Card settlement is only the opening move. Mastercard and SoFi say they are actively exploring whether SoFiUSD settlement on Mastercard’s network can extend into cross-border payments, remittances, and other money movement use cases. SoFi is also separately in discussions with large merchants across the United States about stablecoin-based settlement arrangements outside the card program itself.

Why this matters: cross-border payments and remittances are precisely the corners of the payments industry where legacy rails are slowest and most expensive, charging fees far above the fractional-cent pricing SoFi has attached to SoFiUSD. If the settlement model that just went live on $25 billion in card volume proves reliable, extending it into international transfers would target one of the most persistent pain points in global finance.

The groundwork for this was laid back in March, when Mastercard and SoFi first announced plans to enable SoFiUSD as a settlement option across Mastercard’s network and to explore further use cases together. Tuesday’s announcement is the visible result of that earlier commitment finally reaching full deployment.

Industry Perspective on Stablecoin Integration

SoFi’s own crypto operations were already testing the waters before this week’s launch. Noto said during a July earnings call that SoFi’s cryptocurrency business is settling transactions in the stablecoin and that commercial banking customers can already use it for payments, suggesting the card program migration builds on internal usage that had been running for months.

Mastercard, for its part, is positioning stablecoin infrastructure as a strategic growth lane rather than a one-off partnership. Mastercard Chief Financial Officer Ling Hai said on September 10 that stablecoin and digital asset infrastructure represents an opportunity for growth, and that the company is embedding stablecoin orchestration and white-label wallet capabilities directly into its payments stack. Beyond SoFi, Mastercard says it is supporting stablecoin settlement across its network through a growing ecosystem of banks, fintechs, and stablecoin issuers.

Taken together, the SoFi rollout looks less like an isolated product update and more like an early test case for how a major card network absorbs stablecoin rails at scale. If Mastercard’s broader ecosystem strategy follows the same pattern SoFi just demonstrated, cheaper, faster settlement could quietly become the default rather than the exception across a much wider set of banking partners.

FAQ

What stablecoin is used for SoFi Bank’s card program settlement?

SoFi Bank’s card program uses SoFiUSD, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank.

How does stablecoin settlement benefit merchants using SoFi’s platform?

Via SoFi’s Big Business Banking platform, merchants get settlement funds credited instantly to a SoFi Bank account and can withdraw them as cash at any hour without paying any fees.