Mastercard launches security tool for stablecoin payments

Mastercard launched Stablecoin Security to help banks identify fraud and sanctions risks before clients make on-chain stablecoin payments. Borderless.xyz and Keyrails are the first partners. The service launches in North America, with global availability expected in 2027.

Mastercard said the service’s API works across multiple blockchain platforms and uses payment data and blockchain analytics. Before a payment is authorized, it identifies the source of funds, checks for fraud indicators and sanctions exposure, and assigns a risk score.

The company is not building another payment network. It aims to provide banks with risk intelligence as more business payments move to public blockchains.

“Stablecoins are creating new possibilities for value exchange, but financial institutions need the right intelligence and controls to participate with confidence,” said Ann Johnson, Mastercard’s executive vice president of Security Solutions.

Mastercard and BVNK announced their Global Money Platform on October 15, following Mastercard’s acquisition of BVNK in August. The platform combines fiat accounts, stablecoins, currency conversion and local payouts through a single API.

Nuvei and Marqeta are among the platform’s early adopters.

Mastercard Move already reaches more than 17 billion endpoints. Its reach is projected to extend to about 200 countries and 40 currencies by 2027.

Separately, J.P. Morgan introduced its JPM Coin deposit token, JPMD, on Ethereum on October 19, according to Cryptopolitan. Unlike retail stablecoins, JPMD represents bank deposits and is available only to approved institutions.

Ethereum holds approximately $147.62 billion in stablecoins, including $78.8 billion in Tether and $45.90 billion in Circle stablecoins.

JPMorgan has not disclosed JPMD transaction volumes.

Determining how many stablecoin transfers constitute actual payments remains difficult. A BIS research report published in June, analyzing activity in 2025, found that about 60% of 593 million transfers were complex transactions rather than straightforward payments.

Visa excludes bots, bridges and other non-organic transfers from its analytics to estimate genuine payment volumes.

A paper published on October 19 by Wenxin Du, Catherine Huang and David Scharfstein found that foreign-exchange fees, withdrawal fees and insufficient liquidity can prevent stablecoin users from realizing cost savings.

The Financial Stability Board warned on October 12 that global stablecoins can create risks beyond the oversight of any single regulator.

The IMF also cautioned that fragmented networks and limited access to safe settlement assets could impede tokenization.

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