SoFi Goes Live With Stablecoin Settlement Across Mastercard’s Card Network
Admin
2 min read
SoFi Technologies has begun settling transactions across its entire Mastercard-branded card programme using its own stablecoin, SoFiUSD, in what the two companies describe as the first time a nationally chartered US bank has moved a live card programme onto blockchain-based settlement. The move was announced in a statement published by SoFi’s investor relations site on 22 September 2026.
SoFi said the card programme now running on stablecoin rails is expected to process more than $25 billion in annualised transaction volume. Settlement between SoFi and Mastercard for that volume is now recorded on a blockchain rather than moving solely through conventional card-network settlement, according to the companies.
From Pilot to Full Rollout
SoFi and Mastercard first agreed to explore stablecoin settlement in March 2026. Trade outlets including Fintech Global reported that this week’s announcement marks the shift from that initial pilot arrangement to a full migration of SoFi’s card programme, rather than a repeat of the original partnership news.
“In six months, SoFi and Mastercard took stablecoin settlement from an idea to a live product that materially improves how money moves for businesses,” said SoFi chief executive Anthony Noto, according to the company’s statement. Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s global head of digital commercialisation, said stablecoins “become meaningful when they solve real problems that businesses face every day.”
What SoFiUSD Is
SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. SoFi says the token is redeemable 1:1 for US dollars and backed primarily by cash reserves, distinguishing it from stablecoins issued outside the banking system.
Why It Matters
Card settlement traditionally passes through several intermediary banks and can take days to finalise. Moving that process onto a blockchain-based stablecoin is intended to settle transactions faster and more cheaply. A live, full-programme deployment by a regulated US bank — rather than a pilot — is a concrete data point in the wider debate over how quickly stablecoins move from crypto-industry use into mainstream banking infrastructure.
What’s Next
SoFi said it is in discussions with large US merchants about extending stablecoin-based settlement further, and that it is exploring cross-border payments and remittances as future use cases for SoFiUSD on Mastercard’s network. Neither company gave a timeline for those extensions.
