Mastercard Reviews Ripple RLUSD-Based Payments…Expanding XRP Ledger Utilization

▲ Mastercard, XRP/AI Generated Image ©

As Mastercard considers adopting Ripple-based stablecoin payments, the possibility of the XRP ecosystem being incorporated into global payment infrastructure is becoming a reality.

According to cryptocurrency media outlet Bitcoinist on April 18 (local time), Mastercard is promoting a plan to process card payment settlements using Ripple USD (RLUSD), aiming for actual implementation within the first half of the year. The project is reportedly being carried out in cooperation with US cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

Christian Rau, Mastercard's Head of Digital Assets and Blockchain, explained the concept as part of a strategy to integrate stablecoins into existing payment networks. He emphasized that utilizing stablecoins as an additional payment currency within the existing card network, rather than as a separate system, is the most realistic expansion path.

In particular, Mastercard's network scale of approximately 150 million merchants and 3.8 billion cards is considered a key foundation that can expect an immediate widespread effect upon RLUSD adoption. Rau assessed that stablecoins can improve payment speed and global fund transfer efficiency while providing advantages that the existing fiat currency system cannot.

The core of this project is a structure that settles Gemini card payment flows with RLUSD. This is drawing market attention as it could be one of the first cases where an XRP Ledger-based stablecoin is connected to a real commercial payment system. The media reported that this could be a turning point where cryptocurrency and existing financial infrastructure combine.

Meanwhile, XRP (Ripple) is trading at approximately $1.45 at the time of reporting, and it remains to be seen whether this expansion of payment infrastructure will lead to strengthening demand in the future.

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