Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments 

A study of 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million Ethereum transactions in 2025 found that nearly 60% were complex, multi-step transactions, rather than simple, one-to-one payments. This can make it harder for financial institutions to assess risk across the full payment journey, from supplier payments and global trade settlement to moving funds across countries and currencies. Stablecoin Security helps close that gap by combining payment intelligence with blockchain analytics, giving financial institutions a more complete view of risk at key points in the transaction lifecycle.

“Stablecoins are creating new possibilities for value exchange, but financial institutions need the right intelligence and controls to participate with confidence,” said Ann Johnson, executive vice president, Security Solutions at Mastercard. “By bringing payment and blockchain insights together, Stablecoin Security extends Mastercard’s fraud and risk capabilities to digital asset payments, giving institutions a clearer view of risk to make more informed decisions and build greater trust.”

Delivered through a platform-agnostic application programming interface (API), Stablecoin Security analyzes signals including transaction context, where the funds came from, exposure to restricted parties and scam indicators. It generates intelligence across the fiat and stablecoin payment lifecycle, including a risk score before a payment is completed, and can be integrated into existing fraud, compliance and case management workflows. This allows financial institutions to support stablecoin payments without creating a separate risk operating model.

For example, consider a coffee shop owner in Boston purchasing coffee beans from a supplier in Brazil. The coffee shop initiates payment through its bank, which uses stablecoins to move funds across borders more quickly and efficiently. Before the payment is sent, the bank’s service provider uses Mastercard Stablecoin Security to analyze payment and blockchain intelligence, helping the bank determine whether the payment can proceed as expected or should be reviewed further. The Brazilian supplier receives the funds and confidently converts the stablecoin to local currency.

Mastercard is working with Borderless.xyz and Keyrails, both participants in Mastercard’s Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets startup engagement program, to bring Stablecoin Security to real-world payment flows. Keyrails supports high-value cross-border trade payments, particularly in emerging markets. Borderless.xyz gives financial institutions a single connection to licensed stablecoin providers in more than 113 countries and 72 currencies, handles the operations behind every payment, and enables routing each one to the best provider. In 2027, Mastercard will continue to expand Stablecoin Security’s reach and adoption, including through BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure provider it acquired in August 2026.

Stablecoin Security builds on Mastercard's broader efforts to bring trust, security and transparency to stablecoin and digital asset transactions. Alongside complementary capabilities such as Mastercard Crypto Credential and Crypto Secure, it aims to help financial institutions navigate emerging forms of money movement with greater confidence. 

The solution is launching first in North America, with commercial availability expected worldwide in 2027.

“Stablecoin payments should be simple to launch and manage, even when the infrastructure behind them is complex,” said Alex Garn, chief product officer at Borderless.xyz. “Working with Mastercard will help give financial institutions the context they need to manage risk across providers, markets and currencies without adding another layer of operational complexity.”

“Global trade needs trusted infrastructure for stablecoin settlement,” said Rajpal Khangura, co-founder and chief compliance officer at Keyrails. “Working with Mastercard strengthens the risk intelligence behind high-value trade payments, helping institutions move money across borders with greater visibility, confidence, and settlement certainty."

“As stablecoins become more embedded in global payments, security needs to evolve alongside the technology,” said Kimberly Mescal Julien, global head of partnerships, BVNK. “We look forward to exploring how innovations such as this can help strengthen the infrastructure underpinning stablecoin transactions and support the ecosystem’s continued growth.”