SoFi moves $25 billion card program to SoFiUSD settlement on Mastercard

SoFi Technologies has moved its entire $25 billion card program to blockchain based settlement using SoFiUSD as its bank issued stablecoin goes live across Mastercard’s global payments network.

According to a joint announcement from SoFi and Mastercard on Sept. 22, debit and credit card transactions under the SoFi Bank program are now settling with SoFiUSD, making the token part of Mastercard’s live payment infrastructure six months after the companies announced their partnership.

Transactions are already live onchain, with SoFi Bank migrating a card program expected to process more than $25 billion in volume. SoFi said the rollout makes SoFiUSD the first stablecoin issued by a nationally chartered bank to be used for settlement across Mastercard’s network.

The system does not require merchants to hold the token or build separate blockchain infrastructure. Settlement can reach a SoFi Bank account through the company’s Big Business Banking platform, after which merchants can withdraw the funds as cash around the clock without a withdrawal fee.

“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.

Noto said merchants can use blockchain based settlement without changing how they currently operate, while gaining faster access to funds through their bank accounts.

SoFiUSD stablecoin settlement moves into live card transactions

SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The stablecoin is redeemable 1:1 for U.S. dollars, with reserves held primarily in cash, according to the company.

The token is available to institutions and SoFi members for settlement, payments and other financial applications.

SoFi had already expanded access to the token before moving its card program onchain. In May, crypto.news previously reported that SoFiUSD became available inside the company’s consumer app, allowing nearly 15 million members to buy, sell, hold and convert the stablecoin. The token operates on Ethereum and Solana, while SoFi had listed Mastercard settlement among the institutional uses planned for the product.

Mastercard Global Head of Digital Commercialization Sherri Haymond said the launch had moved the companies past the testing stage and into live use.

“Stablecoins become meaningful when they solve real problems that businesses face every day,” Haymond said. She added that the companies were bringing regulated stablecoin settlement into production while keeping the safeguards and scale associated with Mastercard’s existing network.

Mastercard has been expanding stablecoin settlement options

The SoFi rollout follows a larger stablecoin settlement program unveiled by Mastercard earlier this year.

In June, Mastercard added six regulated stablecoins to its planned settlement infrastructure, including Circle’s USDC, PayPal USD, Global Dollar, Pax Dollar, Ripple USD and SoFiUSD. The payment company said supported transactions could settle outside conventional banking hours, including during weekends and holidays.

Support was announced across several blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Canton, Tempo and the XRP Ledger.

Under that rollout, issuers and acquirers were expected to gain the option to settle card transactions using regulated stablecoins while retaining existing Mastercard payment processes. Initial support was planned for parts of the United States and Latin America before further expansion during 2026.

Mastercard has since continued building infrastructure that connects conventional payment systems with blockchain based money movement.

The company completed its acquisition of BVNK in August in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion. BVNK provides infrastructure for moving funds between fiat currencies and stablecoins and supports payments, treasury operations, payouts and settlement.

Bringing BVNK into Mastercard gave the payments company another set of systems for handling stablecoin and tokenized asset transactions alongside its existing payment network.

SoFi is extending SoFiUSD beyond its own banking network

SoFi said the latest settlement launch is not intended to remain limited to transactions involving SoFi Bank.

The company is in discussions with large U.S. merchants over stablecoin based settlement arrangements, ranging from multinational retailers to technology service platforms. No participating merchants or implementation dates were disclosed in the announcement.

SoFi and Mastercard plan to examine more uses for SoFiUSD across Mastercard’s network, including cross border payments, remittances and other forms of money movement.

Institutional distribution of the stablecoin has been growing through separate partnerships. Earlier this month, SoFi reached an agreement with Payward that brought together its banking infrastructure and Kraken’s digital asset services.

Under the arrangement, Kraken agreed to list the SoFiUSD stablecoin, while Payward joined SoFi’s real time settlement network for round the clock U.S. dollar transfers. SoFi agreed to use Kraken Prime as another source of liquidity for digital asset orders.

The partnership gave SoFiUSD another distribution channel outside SoFi’s own platform while connecting institutional clients with bank based dollar settlement.

Merchants can settle without holding SoFiUSD

For merchants, the companies have structured the system so that stablecoin settlement can remain largely behind the scenes.

Businesses do not need to maintain a SoFiUSD balance or integrate blockchain wallets into their operations, according to SoFi. Funds can be received through SoFi Bank and converted into cash while the blockchain handles the settlement process between the relevant parties.

SoFi’s Big Business Banking platform serves as part of that infrastructure. The service was launched earlier this year to give institutional customers access to fiat balances, stablecoins and digital assets through a single regulated banking environment.

SoFiUSD can be used within the platform for payments and settlement, while businesses can move between the token and U.S. dollars through SoFi Bank.

The company said the system gives merchants access to settlement funds at any time instead of tying withdrawals to traditional banking hours.

SoFi and Mastercard have not provided a timetable for the next phase of the rollout. Their current discussions cover merchant settlement, cross border transfers, remittances and other payment uses as they assess where SoFiUSD can be used across Mastercard’s network.