SoFi and Mastercard have integrated the settlement of stablecoins into SoFi Bank's bank card services. According to disclosures on September 22nd by both parties, this adjustment covers all debit and credit card items for SoFi Bank and N.A, with a scale of approximately 25 billion US dollars. The backend settlement for related transactions has begun to transition to blockchain infrastructure.

This time, the stablecoin in US dollars, SoFiUSD, which is issued by SoFi, is being used for the launch, and it operates through Mastercard's global payment network. For cardholders, the experience of swiping cards will not change significantly, but the method of fund settlement between merchants and banks has been altered.

Cover the entire bank card project

SoFi indicates that this migration is not a pilot project, nor is it a partial feature update; rather, it aims to cover the entire bank card project. In the past, although bank card transactions could be authorized within a few seconds, it often took longer for merchants to actually receive the settlement funds.

After switching to stablecoins, the settlement process after transactions can operate around the clock. SoFi states that related transfers can be credited almost in real-time, with fees as low as "a few cents." This contrasts with the common batch processing and per-transaction charging models used in traditional card settlements.

Merchants can withdraw funds 24 hours a day.

SoFi indicates that through its Big Business Banking platform, merchants can now receive settlement funds in real-time and withdraw them as cash at any time without any fees. The company's CEO, Anthony Noto, stated that this arrangement allows businesses to get their funds more quickly while still completing the transactions within the bank account system.

• Coverage: SoFi Bank All debit and credit card items
• Settlement asset: US dollar stablecoin SoFiUSD
• Main selling points: 24/7 settlement, near-real-time account crediting, low fees

For merchants, this change first affects cash flow management. In the past, it took several days for card transaction revenues to be credited to their accounts, but now they can be received more quickly, reducing the pressure on daily operations.

Subsequent plans to expand to cross-border payments

Both parties stated that bank card settlement is just the first step, and they are evaluating the expansion of SoFiUSD settlement to cross-border payments, remittances, and other fund transfer scenarios. SoFi is also discussing stable coin settlement cooperation beyond bank card projects with large American merchants.

Cross-border payments and remittances have always been areas with higher costs and slower transaction times within the traditional payment system. If this model operates stably in bank card services, its subsequent expansion to international transfers would be of greater practical significance.

MasterCard invests in stablecoin infrastructure

Public information shows that Mastercard and SoFi announced as early as March this year their plan to make SoFiUSD a settlement option within the Mastercard network. This announcement signifies that the related deployment has entered the formal implementation phase.

SoFi Management has previously revealed that some transactions in the company's cryptocurrency business have been settled using this stablecoin, and commercial bank customers can also use it for payments. Mastercard On the other hand, they have also stated that stablecoins and digital asset infrastructure are one of their growth directions, and they are integrating related capabilities into their payment systems.