SoFi Becomes First U.S. National Bank To Settle Card Payments With Stablecoin
By CU Today Staff —
SAN FRANCISCO—SoFi Bank has become the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to go live with stablecoin settlement across Mastercard’s global payments network, moving its debit and credit card program onto blockchain-based settlement using its SoFiUSD stablecoin.
The program is expected to process more than $25 billion in annualized card volume once the migration is complete, with transactions already live on the blockchain, according to SoFi’s announcement and reporting by The Block.
The move puts into production a partnership SoFi and Mastercard announced in March. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, an OCC-regulated, nationally chartered bank, and is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars with reserves consisting primarily of cash. The companies said stablecoin settlement can give businesses faster access to funds without requiring merchants to hold stablecoins, build blockchain infrastructure or change how they accept card payments.
“In six months, SoFi and Mastercard took stablecoin settlement from an idea to a live product that materially improves how money moves for businesses,” SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said. “Merchants do not need to hold stablecoins, build new infrastructure or change how they operate. 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.”
Mastercard has been expanding stablecoin settlement more broadly, including support for USDC, PYUSD, USDG, USDP and RLUSD in addition to SoFiUSD.
The $25-billion figure represents the expected annualized volume of SoFi’s card program, not the amount already settled in stablecoin, a distinction noted in subsequent reporting by CryptoSlate. SoFi said it is also discussing stablecoin-based settlement arrangements with large U.S. merchants and plans to make the capability available to other financial institutions and card issuers through its Galileo technology platform, potentially extending the model beyond SoFi’s own cards.
Originally reported by CU Today.