Mastercard Strengthens Its Ties with Circle in New Stablecoin Settlement Rollout for EEMEA Merchants

Mastercard has announced a new digital asset settlement solution for merchants and acquirers in the EEMEA region through a strategic tie-up with Circle. Notably, the card giant disclosed in an August 26 blog post that it has expanded its partnership with stablecoin issuer Circle to provide digital settlement services to users in the EEMEA. This would allow acquirers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA) to use USDC in the Mastercard payment system for the first time. For the uninitiated, an acquirer or an acquiring bank is a financial body that processes transactions on behalf of a merchant. They provide the necessary infrastructure to support merchants in processing electronic payments. New Settlement Rail for EEMEA Mastercard Acquirers The strengthened ties between Mastercard and Circle introduce a new payment rail for acquirers and merchants in the EEMEA, enabling them to settle transactions in stablecoins . They will launch this new payment system with Circle’s USDC and EURC. Remarkably, the move further solidifies Mastercard’s commitment to bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain. The payment card service provider’s next stop is in the EEMEA, with Bahrain’s Arab Financial Services and Eazy Financial Services the first to leverage the new stablecoin rail. Notably, Circle and Mastercard have an existing partnership in the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, but for crypto card payments. It involves the use of USDC by Bybit and SILKPAY to settle transactions. Meanwhile, Mastercard is also collaborating with Circle to introduce an option that enables merchants to receive payments in cryptocurrencies, regardless of the customer's preferred payment method. This means that even if a user settles a transaction in fiat, the merchant will receive the payment in digital assets. Mastercard’s Crypto Push Notably, Mastercard continues to deepen its roots in the crypto space with strategic partnerships and individual rollouts. The endgame is to bring its success in TradFi into the nascent industry.  Recently, the card payment giant onboarded several crypto settlements onto its global payment network. Notably, it was part of Gemini's XRP credit card launch. The US-based exchange launched the XRP-focused card service in collaboration with Ripple, with all related transactions running on Mastercard’s payment system. Mastercard also rolled out a stablecoin off-ramp payment system in a tie-up with MoonPay . The settlement solution targets 150 million businesses globally, further simplifying the use of crypto cards among users and merchants.