Mastercard: Slow Fiat Exits Cancel Out Stablecoin Transaction Speed

Stablecoin transactions can move money faster, but converting into and out of those tokens can cancel out the gain, a Mastercard executive said. "You don't want to have a 'stablecoin sandwich,'" said Matthew Driver, executive vice president of services for Asia Pacific at Mastercard. He was describing a slow on-ramp into stablecoins, a fast transaction in the middle, and a slow off-ramp back into fiat currency. "That won't necessarily translate into faster payments," he said. Driver said linking real-time payment systems to stablecoin exchanges at both ends of a transaction could speed things up, but "you still need to enable the infrastructure." He said market participants need to be able to use the technology effectively. Adoption opportunities will differ by market, Driver said. In Singapore, where retail payments already run efficiently, stablecoins may see fewer applications in consumer transactions, while corporate payments could offer greater opportunities. He also pointed to smart contracts as a potential use case for corporate payments, allowing transactions to execute when certain conditions are met. Driver said interest in stablecoins has increased following the establishment of the U.S. GENIUS Act. Mastercard has been expanding its digital asset business. The company completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK in August. Early this month, Mastercard and BVNK launched Global Money Platform, designed to help banks, fintechs and businesses manage payments involving traditional currencies and stablecoins through a single application programming interface. Beyond payment speed, Driver said Mastercard is looking to incorporate blockchain and identity data to establish the same level of trust expected across other payment systems.

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image_prompt: "A photorealistic news photo of a bank teller window and a computer screen showing a payment transfer, with a queue of people waiting to exchange cash for digital tokens, soft natural light, neutral tones, no real or identifiable people, no text, no logos."}