New York, March 4, 2026, 07:50 EST
- SoFi plans to tap Mastercard’s payments network for settling transactions with SoFiUSD, teaming up with Mastercard for the move.
- Clients of SoFi Bank and Galileo are set to have the ability to settle their card transactions using the stablecoin.
- Payment networks are ramping up efforts to trial stablecoins, aiming to speed up back-end money transfers.
SoFi Technologies is taking its partnership with Mastercard a step further, bringing SoFiUSD—its own U.S. dollar stablecoin—into the mix as a new settlement choice on Mastercard’s worldwide payments platform.
Why does the project matter? Settlement is the final step when card payments are completed—the actual movement of money between the banks involved in a transaction. A stablecoin, meanwhile, is a type of crypto token aimed at maintaining a fixed price, usually pegged to the U.S. dollar. 1
Payment networks are pushing ahead with efforts to enable faster, around-the-clock money movement, targeting use cases like cross-border flows and business disbursements. Mastercard has put forward its Multi-Token Network, framing it as a connector between legacy money systems and tokenized assets. 2
SoFi said both issuers and acquirers—the banks behind issuing cards and those that handle merchant payments—will have the chance to settle card transactions using SoFiUSD. The company also plans for its own banking division to use SoFiUSD for settling certain Mastercard-linked credit and debit payments and noted Galileo will roll out the capability early for its card partners. “SoFiUSD is at the heart of our strategy to make it faster, cheaper, and safer … to move money,” Chief Executive Anthony Noto said. Mastercard’s Sherri Haymond called the project a way to “connect regulated stablecoins with the reliability, security, and reach people expect.” 3
SoFi says its SoFiUSD token is a digital asset, issued through SoFi Bank, N.A., and pegged 1:1 to cash or cash equivalents. Still, the firm makes clear: SoFiUSD isn’t a deposit and doesn’t carry FDIC insurance. 4
Noto snapped up 56,000 SoFi shares in the open market just days before the announcement, spending roughly $1 million, according to a securities filing. The weighted average came to about $17.88 per share. Following the purchase, his direct stake stands at 11,675,452 shares, the filing showed. 5
SoFi is making moves to reestablish itself in the crypto space. Back in November, the company announced plans to bring crypto trading to its customers, with a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin also in the pipeline. Management pointed to what they described as more transparent regulatory signals. 6
Competitors are moving in the same direction. In 2023, PayPal rolled out a U.S. dollar stablecoin, targeting payments and transfers as it gauged how crypto infrastructure might integrate with traditional finance. 7
The road’s anything but smooth. Stablecoin settlement ends up tangled in regulatory frameworks, network policies, and whether major banks or merchants actually want to overhaul entrenched systems. Even tokens pegged to the dollar aren’t immune—they face operational or liquidity jolts if redemptions, reserves, or the blockchain infrastructure itself starts to wobble.
