Stablecoins are already making strong impacts on the crypto market with several recent adoptions and integrations. Amid this profound growth comes Mastercard’s tie-up with ADI Foundation to offer stablecoin payment in the UAE, a country where crypto is already evolving.
ADI Foundation is an Abu Dhabi-based firm focused on offering blockchain infrastructure to governments and institutions. Mastercard’s stablecoin move is also accompanied by advancing blockchain-based asset tokenization, at a time when real-world asset (RWA) tokenization volume is booming.
Mastercard’s blockchain innovation
The collaborative efforts from Mastercard, the leading payment network, and ADI Foundation promise stablecoin-based settlement for international and domestic transactions, payment cards linked to stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets use cases, improving remittances, plus business-to-business trade payments.
Mastercard’s footprints in crypto began four years ago
Mastercard has already immersed its arms in the crypto realm, starting with a crypto-as-a-Service option in 2021. This allows banks or fintechs to offer customers ways to buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrencies.
The payment network’s collaboration with stablecoin issuer Circle is another notable deal where crypto businesses can settle payments via USDC stablecoin. Here, merchants can choose to receive payments in stablecoins.
Another partnership with Circle also allows Mastercard to enable EURC and USDC stablecoin settlement across the Middle East and Africa, and Europe.
Stablecoins delve into payment mainstream
One important thing to note is that payment networks/rails have been gradually stepping into blockchain innovation with stablecoin adoption. The Visa payment network recently adopted stablecoins alongside launching a Stablecoins Advisory Practice to assist fintechs, banks, and enterprises in building stablecoin strategies. The payment rail has already been into stablecoin settlements, with its USDC settlement merchant acquirers in 2023.
Visa’s partnership with Bridge (stablecoin infrastructure) to introduce stablecoin-linked Visa cards has also led to a huge milestone in stablecoin growth.
PayPal, one of the leading payment platforms, has its PYUSD stablecoin that lets users pay online, in-store, make peer-to-peer transfers, cross-border payments, enterprise settlement, and so much more.
In the UAE and across other countries, stablecoins ensure faster access, a stable price, and relatively lower conversion rates. Also, they allow businesses and individuals to settle cross-border payments faster than traditional methods, at any time. In countries like the UAE, stablecoins would see an exponential growth as the government has a comprehensive regulatory framework to oversee the crypto industry.
