MoonPay and Mastercard Cut Through Crypto Chaos with Global Stablecoin Payments

Traditional finance meets Web3 as payment giants shake hands—just as regulators start sharpening their knives.

MoonPay’s new partnership with Mastercard bypasses banking bottlenecks, letting users spend stablecoins anywhere the card network operates. No more swapping to fiat—just direct settlements in USDC or other dollar-pegged tokens.

The move targets cross-border transactions first, where fees and delays make traditional wires feel like medieval torture. Early adopters get instant settlements; skeptics get another reason to mutter about ’shadow banking.’

One cynic’s take: Wall Street will lobby against this until they finish building their own stablecoin rails—then suddenly discover its ’transformative potential.’

Turning crypto wallets into global bank accounts

At the heart of the new payment rails is Iron, the API-powered stablecoin infrastructure recently acquired by MoonPay in March. Iron enables crypto wallets to function like digital bank accounts, making stablecoin transactions fast, efficient, and accessible for global payouts, disbursements, and cross-border commerce.

Businesses will be able to streamline payments to gig workers, creators, and contractors using stablecoin rails. This could reshape how digital-native workers around the world get paid, especially in underbanked regions or in high-fee remittance corridors.

“By providing solutions that unlock stablecoin utility and ubiquity, we are redefining how money moves globally and driving a shift in payments as we know it,” said Sherri Haymond, co-president of Global Partnerships at Mastercard. “Together with MoonPay, we’re building innovative and secure connectivity between crypto and mainstream finance ecosystems, grounded by trust and driven by scale.”

Tapping into a 120m user base

MoonPay’s network integrates with over 500 leading crypto platforms, including major wallets and exchanges, connecting with more than 100 million active users. Approximately 20 million wallets are already conducting monthly stablecoin transactions, with 120 million globally holding stablecoin balances, signalling strong demand for real-world spending solutions.

“MoonPay serves the largest crypto wallets in the industry, and with Mastercard, we’re bringing convenient, trusted stablecoin-enabled cards to crypto users around the world,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and Founder of MoonPay.

This collaboration builds on Mastercard’s ongoing push into the digital assets space, extending its support for end-to-end stablecoin payments and expanding the use of blockchain in everyday financial transactions.