Mastercard Adds RLUSD to 24/7 Settlement Network Alongside USDC, PYUSD

Mastercard added RLUSD stablecoin to its global settlement network on Wednesday, a notable development for the XRP community. Ripple's stablecoin is now live alongside others such as USDC and PYUSD across Arbitrum, Ethereum, Solana, XRPL and other blockchains. Banks love a 24/7 settlement option almost as much as crypto traders love a weekend candle.

Mastercard Expands Settlement Capabilities Using RLUSD, USDC, PYUSD Stablecoins

In an official announcement on June 3, payments giant Mastercard expanded its settlement network to support 24/7 on-chain settlements using regulated stablecoins. The supported stablecoins include Circle's USDC, Paxos' PYUSD, USDG, USDP, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFiUSD. The payments company said it will give issuers and acquirers greater flexibility to settle their card-based transactions intraday, including on weekends and holidays, when most banks are still pretending it's Saturday. Notably, Mastercard also offers some of the best crypto cards as stablecoin adoption grows. It added that these stablecoin-powered settlements will be supported across blockchain networks, including Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo, and XRPL. The early users would include ARQ, CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank and Nuvei. This means the stablecoin settlement optionality support is first available in the United States and Latin America, with further expansion later this year. "The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most," said Raj Dhamodharan, EVP of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard.

XRP News: Mastercard and Ripple's Efforts for On-Chain Payments

Mastercard's stablecoin settlement using USDC and RLUSD comes following a pivot towards crypto and real-time 24/7 payments. The company claimed that earlier pilots and initial live deployments played key roles. Notably, Ripple joined Mastercard's Crypto Partner Program to advance on-chain payments. Other crypto firms such as Binance, Circle, Gemini, PayPal, and Paxos also joined the program. Stablecoins have long been used primarily for crypto trading, but Mastercard and Ripple seem determined to make them useful for everyone who forgot the banking hours closed hours ago.