Mastercard Explores Ripple's RLUSD Stablecoin for Card Settlement
Mastercard is expanding its digital payment capabilities by piloting Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin for card settlement. The company has been working with Gemini to implement this feature, which will enable Mastercard to settle card flows in RLUSD across its network.
This move marks a significant step towards mainstream adoption of stablecoins as a viable alternative to traditional fiat currencies. According to Christian Rau, Mastercard's senior vice president for digital assets and blockchain, the integration of stablecoins into existing rails can speed up cross-border flows and provide benefits that fiat currencies cannot match.
Mastercard has roughly 150 million acceptance locations and 3.8 billion cards, making it a significant player in the payment industry. The company aims to go live with this feature in the first half of the year, marking another milestone in its push to incorporate stablecoins into its network.
Ripple launched RLUSD in December 2024, and since then, it has been onboarded by several exchanges, custodians, and payment firms seeking XRP Ledger settlement. With this partnership, Mastercard is exploring how to settle card flows in RLUSD, linking XRP Ledger-backed stablecoin rails to one of the world's largest payment systems.