Stablecoins Reshape Global Payments as SoFi-Mastercard Partnership Goes Live

SoFi and Mastercard have launched a live stablecoin settlement partnership that's being hailed as one of the most significant developments in blockchain-based payments.

The program, which is already processing transactions across SoFi's entire credit card program, handles more than $25 billion in annualized transaction volume.

SoFi has begun settling debit and credit card transactions using its proprietary stablecoin, SoFi USD, on Mastercard's network without requiring customers to own or purchase the stablecoin.

Crypto analyst Scott Melker described the partnership as 'massive' and said that stablecoins are on course to fundamentally reshape global financial infrastructure.

The arrangement operates entirely in the background, with consumers and merchants unaware of the blockchain layer involved in transactions.