Borderless.xyz becomes first Mastercard Crypto Credential pilot partner for stablecoin payments

Mastercard and Borderless.xyz started testing Crypto Credential on Wednesday for cross-border stablecoin payment flows.

The pilot targets firms moving dollars on-chain that want to know who is on the other side of a transaction.

Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe test Crypto Credential

The trial runs over Borderless.xyz’s payments network. Firms that participate embed Crypto Credential’s assurance signals into their transaction approval, screening, and risk management process.

Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe are the first stablecoin payment operators to run assurance signals at network scale with a single-audit compliance model.

Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Blockchain and Digital Assets, said the tie-up grew out of Start Path, the company’s startup program.

“Today, we’re excited to take the next step together, exploring how Mastercard Crypto Credential can help bring greater trust and confidence to stablecoin payment flows across a growing network of participants,” he said. Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe are Start Path alumni, too.

Crypto Credential standardizes identity and compliance checks for wallet-to-wallet transactions. It uses shared assurance signals that let one party gauge whether a counterparty met the required standards.

Borderless.xyz operates a stablecoin orchestration and liquidity network, connecting wallet infrastructure to 15 licensed stablecoin providers in 100 countries, by its own account.

“One of the biggest friction points for stablecoin payment operators isn’t the payments. It’s that compliance doesn’t scale the same way the network does. Every new provider means starting the verification process over,” said Borderless.xyz CEO and co-founder Kevin Lehtiniitty.

He compared it to correspondent banking, where compliance done at the point of origin is trusted downstream, and reasoned that Mastercard is taking that approach to digital asset payments.

Pilot follows Mastercard’s $1.8 billion BVNK buy

Mastercard acquired BVNK for $1.8 billion, an initial $1.5 billion plus up to $300 million, subject to performance. The acquisition deal cleared regulators five months ahead of the year-end timeline Mastercard set when it announced the purchase on March 17.

BVNK, based in London, runs about $30 billion in annualized stablecoin volume across 130 markets. It holds 25 regulatory licenses.

Mastercard started regulated settlement for stablecoins, including USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD, in June. Cryptopolitan reported that the network would process card transactions across eight blockchains with six regulated stablecoins.

Mastercard kicked off a Crypto Partner Program in March with 85 crypto-native companies, payment providers, and financial institutions for cross-border remittances, settlement, and payouts.

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