Mastercard Announces Stablecoin Risk Screening for Financial Firms

Mastercard announced Stablecoin Security at Money20/20 USA on Oct. 19, outlining a service that will help financial institutions assess fraud, scam and sanctions risks before stablecoin payments move on-chain.

The service will combine payment information with blockchain analytics to produce a risk score before a payment is completed. It checks the origin of funds, links to restricted parties and indicators of scams. Financial institutions can feed the score into existing fraud and compliance systems when deciding which payments to review.

The service is slated to launch first in North America. Mastercard expects worldwide commercial availability in 2027.

The first partners named for the service are Borderless.xyz and Keyrails. Borderless.xyz connects financial institutions with licensed stablecoin providers in more than 113 countries and 72 currencies. Keyrails supports high-value payments for cross-border trade.

Ann Johnson, Mastercard executive vice president of Security Solutions, said financial institutions need “the right intelligence and controls to participate with confidence.”

The announcement follows Mastercard’s Aug. 3 completion of its BVNK acquisition. On Oct. 15, the companies launched a platform combining fiat and stablecoin payment tools. It brings accounts, currency conversion and local bank payouts together through one API.

Through Sept. 30, stablecoin payments reached $482 billion, a 45% increase from a year earlier. Mastercard and other payment companies announced new services in mid-October. The new screening service addresses risks that financial institutions face when using stablecoins for payments.

Mastercard plans to extend Stablecoin Security through BVNK in 2027.