Ripple has announced a new collaboration with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to introduce stablecoin-based settlement for fiat payments using its Ripple USD (RLUSD) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The initiative, unveiled at Ripple Swell 2025 in New York, aims to demonstrate how blockchain can enhance the back-end of traditional payment systems by speeding up settlement, lowering costs, and improving transparency.
A New Model for Fiat Payment Settlement
The partnership bridges two worlds: traditional banking and blockchain-based finance. Mastercard and WebBank, the issuer of Gemini’s credit card, will test RLUSD for settlement between card transactions. Instead of clearing through conventional intermediaries, funds could be moved and reconciled on XRPL, a public ledger designed for secure, near-instant payments.
Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s Global Head of Digital Commercialization, said the partnership reflects the company’s “principled approach to stablecoins,” noting that Mastercard is committed to consumer protection and compliance while exploring the next evolution of digital settlement.
If fully implemented, this would be one of the first cases of a regulated U.S. bank settling card transactions with a regulated stablecoin on a public blockchain, a potential blueprint for future financial infrastructure.
Bridge Between Blockchain Innovation and Banking Stability
Stablecoins like RLUSD are digital assets pegged to fiat currencies, in this case, the U.S. dollar, allowing real-time settlement without price volatility. For banks and payment networks, this reduces counterparty risk and settlement delays, common issues in traditional clearing systems.
RLUSD is fully backed by cash and cash-equivalent reserves and regulated under the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Since its 2024 launch, it has surpassed $1 billion in circulation, signaling early institutional trust in Ripple’s stablecoin model.
Jason Lloyd, CEO of WebBank, called the effort “a bridge between blockchain innovation and banking stability,” while Gemini CFO Dan Chen added that this pilot “connects blockchain innovation directly to real-world payments.”
Mastercard’s Growing Role in Blockchain Finance
The collaboration also reflects Mastercard’s expanding footprint in crypto. Last month, it advanced its partnership with Chainlink to pilot cross-chain payment data transfers using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP).
This project connected Mastercard’s traditional card network to decentralized systems, aiming to make blockchain settlements “invisible” to end users while preserving regulatory compliance.
With over 3.5 billion cardholders globally, Mastercard’s blockchain initiatives are now viewed as an attempt to integrate tokenized payments into everyday commerce without disrupting user experience, effectively making Web3 run behind the scenes of mainstream finance.
Ripple’s Institutional Expansion
For Ripple, the move is another milestone in its ongoing institutional expansion strategy following the end of its legal dispute with the U.S. SEC earlier this year. The company has spent nearly $4 billion acquiring custody, stablecoin, and treasury management firms (including Palisade, Hidden Road, and GTreasury) as part of its push to offer end-to-end digital asset infrastructure for banks and corporations.
Monica Long, Ripple’s President, said the collaboration “shows how regulated digital assets like RLUSD can enhance settlement and pave the way for faster, compliant payments.” She emphasized that the XRP Ledger, long known for its reliability and speed, will serve as the technical backbone for this and other institutional experiments.
What’s Next
Ripple and its partners plan to begin onboarding RLUSD for settlement in the coming months, pending regulatory clearance.
If successful, the pilot could set a precedent for using stablecoins in mainstream card payments, positioning Ripple and Mastercard at the forefront of the next phase of digital finance, where crypto infrastructure powers traditional money movement.