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Mastercard executive warns stablecoin payments need stronger infrastructure

Mastercard's Matthew Driver said stablecoins can speed some payments only if conversion points and supporting infrastructure improve, pointing to corporate payments and smart contracts as promising uses.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-27 18:20

Matthew Driver, executive vice president of services for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, told CNBC in an interview published Tuesday that stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to keep a steady value through a peg to an asset such as the U.S. dollar, could be attractive for certain remittance corridors and less commonly traded currency pairs. But he said the payment experience must be viewed end to end.

"You don't want to have a 'stablecoin sandwich,'" Driver said, describing a slow on-ramp into stablecoins, a fast transaction in the middle and a slow off-ramp back into fiat currency. That structure, he said, will not necessarily translate into faster payments.

Connecting real-time payment systems to stablecoin exchanges on both ends of a transaction could help speed up payments, according to Driver. Even so, he said, "you still need to enable the infrastructure," and market participants need to be able to use the technology effectively.

Driver said opportunities for stablecoin adoption could vary by market. In Singapore, where retail payments are already highly efficient, stablecoins may have fewer applications in consumer transactions, while corporate payments could offer greater opportunities. He also pointed to smart contracts as a potential use case for corporate payments, allowing transactions to be executed when certain conditions are met.

Interest in stablecoins has increased following the establishment of the U.S. GENIUS Act, Driver said. His comments come as Mastercard expands its involvement in digital assets, including through its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, which was completed in August. Earlier this month, Mastercard and BVNK launched Global Money Platform, designed to help banks, fintechs and businesses manage payments involving traditional currencies and stablecoins through a single application programming interface.

Beyond payment speed, Driver said Mastercard is looking to incorporate blockchain and identity data to establish the same level of trust expected across other payment systems.