SoFi Becomes First US Bank to Deploy Stablecoin Settlement Across Mastercard Network

SoFi Technologies has become the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to deploy stablecoin settlement across the Mastercard global payments network. This move is significant, as it addresses four major hurdles that have previously hindered crypto payments at retail.

The $25 billion card program of SoFi has been migrated to settle in SoFiUSD, a dollar-pegged token issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., an OCC-regulated nationally chartered bank. Merchants do not need to hold stablecoins or change their operations, as the settlement is abstracted from the storefront.

This deployment removes the four costs that previously made crypto payments challenging: training staff, changing POS terminals, altering accounting software, and absorbing crypto volatility.

The setup of SoFiUSD, which pegs to a dollar and lives inside a chartered bank's balance sheet, allows it to skip price volatility and participate in payment media without the need for speculation.