Ripple is partnering with Mastercard (MA), WebBank and crypto Exchange Gemini (GEMI) to test the use of its stablecoin RLUSD to settle fiat credit card transactions on a public blockchain.
The initiative, announced Wednesday during Ripple’s Swell 2025 event, aims to show how regulated stablecoins can streamline traditional financial infrastructure without sacrificing compliance or security.
At the center of the project are the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized payments network, and RLUSD, a US dollar-backed stablecoin introduced by Ripple in December 2024 under a charter from the New York Trust. The asset is entirely backed by cash and cash equivalents, and Ripple claims it has already surpassed $1 billion in circulation.
As part of the pilot, WebBank, the issuer of the Gemini credit card, will explore settling Mastercard transactions using RLUSD on XRPL. If implemented, it would be one of the first instances where a regulated U.S. bank would settle traditional card payments using a regulated stablecoin on a public blockchain.
Companies will begin integrating RLUSD with XRPL in the coming months, pending regulatory approvals. If successful, this effort could become a model for other card programs exploring blockchain-based settlement.
“The goal is to bring the speed and efficiency of blockchain to the back end of a payment flow that consumers are already familiar with: swiping a credit card,” said Monica Long, president of Ripple.
In practical terms, the pilot project could potentially replace the slower and more expensive settlement systems that banks rely on today. For example, instead of waiting one to three days for a credit card transaction to clear between a merchant’s bank and the card issuer, a stable currency like RLUSD could move funds almost instantly, including across borders.
Mastercard, which has previously explored stablecoin payments, said the project was part of its broader effort to integrate regulated digital assets into its global network. Gemini and Ripple already collaborated on an “XRP edition” of the Gemini credit card earlier this year.
CORRECTION (November 5, 5:34 p.m. UTC): Fixes the relationship between Ripple and XRP.
