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Mastercard Taps SoFiUSD for Card Settlement as Visa Scales Rival Stablecoin Program

Issued by an OCC-regulated bank, SoFiUSD receives deposit-style treatment on SoFi’s platform.

Overview

  • SoFi and Mastercard agreed to make SoFiUSD a settlement option across the network, with SoFi Bank planning to settle its own Mastercard credit and debit flows in the token and integration into Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network expected.
  • SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, an insured depository institution, and on-platform holdings are treated as deposit tokens eligible for interest and FDIC insurance, whereas off-platform holdings function as a standard stablecoin without those protections.
  • Operational use is at an early stage, with a zero on-chain balance and roughly $7 million in round-trip transactions processed through BitGo indicating pilot-scale activity.
  • SoFi highlights always-on, 24/7 settlement, and its Galileo platform plans to offer client banks and card issuers the option to settle transactions in SoFiUSD across Mastercard’s network.
  • Visa separately expanded its stablecoin-linked card partnership with Bridge, a Stripe company, with plans to reach more than 100 countries by year-end.