MasterCard is moving deeper into the digital active economy by launching new global capabilities to support stablecoin payments across its huge trade network, the company announced on Monday.
The payment giant collaborates with the Crypto Exchange OKX to roll out the “OKX card” aimed at linking crypto -trading and web3 activities with everyday expenses. Meanwhile, merchants will soon be able to run transactions directly in stableecoins such as Circle’s USDC thanks to collaboration with Nuvei and Circle. Paxos will help expand this functionality to other supported stableecoins such as USDP.
“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits of mainstream use are clear,” Jorn Lambert, head of product manager at MasterCard, said in a statement. “To realize its potential, we need to make it so easy for merchants to receive stableecoin payments and for consumers to use them. We believe in the potential of stablecoins to stream payments and trade across the value chain. To unlock this, this is the core of how we navigate in the rapidly changing world, giving people and business they want to give them.
Stableecoins, which are cryptocurrencies associated with stable assets like the US dollar, have gradually moved beyond trading sites for mainstream payments.
MasterCard’s initiative covers the full range of cases in stableecoin use, from wallet activation and map issuance to trade and transfers on the chain. The company has previously collaborated with crypto exchanges such as Kraken, Binance and Crypto.com to allow users to pay with stablecoins via traditional cards.
Last year, it rolled out the Mastercard Crypto Credential, a service designed to simplify sending digital assets across borders using verified usernames rather than complex drawing addresses.
In 2023, MasterCard launched its multi-token Network (MTN), which is utilized to facilitate settlements in real time and redemptions of tokenized assets.
In February, Ondo Finance became the first provider to bring assets in the real world to the network.
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