Mastercard is expanding its involvement in cryptocurrency infrastructure through a new partnership with MoonPay, introducing payment cards that allow users to transact using stablecoins.
The underlying infrastructure will be provided by Iron—a stablecoin payments company acquired by MoonPay in March—and is expected to launch later this year, though no specific timeline or countries have been confirmed.
The service is intended for both individuals and businesses and will automatically convert stablecoins into fiat at the point of sale.
Source: MoonPayWhat can we expect from the stablecoin payment cards?
The new card service will allow users to make purchases and receive payments in stablecoins, with transactions automatically converted into fiat currency. This approach is designed to allow merchants and cardholders to interact with stablecoins without dealing with the complexity of managing crypto wallets or dealing with market volatility directly.
Iron, the infrastructure provider now owned by MoonPay, will handle the technical backend of the service. Whilst the specific stablecoins to be supported have not been disclosed, such products typically use well-known assets like USDC or USDT, both of which are pegged to the US dollar.
The rollout is planned to be global, though both companies have not detailed which regions will be prioritised.
Ongoing Regulatory Developments
In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance in April stating that some stablecoins do not qualify as securities. However, it did not offer clarity on yield-bearing or algorithmic stablecoins, leaving parts of the market in a legal grey area.
The SEC also recently closed an investigation into PayPal’s stablecoin without taking enforcement action, signalling a possible shift toward more defined regulatory boundaries. Even so, the broader legal framework for stablecoins—particularly those used in financial products or payment systems—is still under development in many countries.
Despite this, large payment networks are continuing to experiment. Visa recently launched a stablecoin pilot programme across six Latin American countries, with plans to expand to other continents. Mastercard’s own series of partnerships, including the latest with MoonPay, indicates that the firm views stablecoins as a viable component of future payment infrastructure.
