XRP News: Mastercard Launches 24/7 Settlement Using RLUSD Stablecoin on XRPL

Mastercard added RLUSD stablecoin to its global settlement network on Wednesday, a big news 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.

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 claimed it will give issuers and acquirers greater flexibility to settle their card-based transactions intraday, including on weekends and holidays. 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 banks, payment firms and asset managers are increasingly viewing them as settlement assets. Traditional finance (tradFi) companies want to bring financial instruments on-chain that support instant cross-border transfers outside traditional banking schedules.

As CoinGape reported last week, Mastercard secured a BitLicense from the NYDFS. This aligned with the firm’s long-term strategy to use settlement infrastructure that supports digital currencies such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

In recent major XRP news, JPMorgan, Ripple, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance completed a pilot transaction involving tokenized treasuries on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This was the first time the payment giant settled U.S. Treasuries across borders and banks in real-time and outside traditional banking windows.

“RLUSD’s inclusion in Mastercard’s global settlement network reflects growing demand for trusted, regulated stablecoins built for real-world financial use cases on public blockchains like the XRP Ledger, said Ripple SVP Jack McDonald.