Mastercard, Borderless test shared identity checks for stablecoin transfers

Mastercard and Borderless are teaming up to introduce a pilot project aimed at enhancing trust in cross-border stablecoin payments. The collaboration will test Mastercard's Crypto Credential framework, which uses common standards and assurance signals to provide assurance signals for blockchain transactions. Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO and co-founder of Borderless, highlighted that the pilot aims to address compliance as a major friction point for stablecoin payments.

Mastercard's Crypto Credential will serve as a governance and verification layer in the pilot, although the payment processor will not be involved in processing or settling funds. This marks Mastercard's latest foray into the stablecoin industry, following its recent acquisition of BVNK for $1.8 billion. In June, Mastercard also announced plans to expand its settlement capabilities to include intraday, weekend, and holiday card settlement, including through stablecoins like Circle's USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG, USDP, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFi's SoFiUSD.