Mastercard has taken another decisive step in bringing blockchain-powered payments into the financial mainstream, announcing a strategic collaboration with the Abu Dhabi–based ADI Foundation to expand stablecoin settlement and tokenized asset use cases across the Middle East.
The move deepens Mastercard’s role in regulated digital finance and places the company at the center of the region’s rapidly growing blockchain ecosystem.
The partnership aligns closely with the United Arab Emirates’ ambition to position itself as a global hub for digital assets and compliant blockchain infrastructure.
Rather than treating stablecoins as speculative instruments, Mastercard is focusing on practical payment and settlement applications that serve banks, fintech firms, merchants, and consumers seeking faster and more transparent transaction flows.
Building Stablecoin Rails for Real-World Payments
At the heart of the collaboration is the development and validation of high-impact blockchain use cases, particularly stablecoin-based settlement for both domestic and cross-border transactions. These efforts include support for remittances, business-to-business trade flows, stablecoin-linked payment cards, and tokenized real-world assets.
By working with the ADI Foundation, Mastercard gains access to a compliant, high-performance blockchain framework designed to meet regional regulatory requirements. This structure allows digital asset solutions to scale without compromising on oversight, transparency, or security—an area where many crypto-native payment systems have struggled.
According to Mastercard, the initiative is designed to improve settlement speed, reduce transaction friction, and provide clearer visibility into payment flows. For enterprises operating across borders, this could mean fewer intermediaries, lower costs, and near real-time settlement compared to traditional correspondent banking systems.
Prakriti Singh, executive vice president for core payments across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Mastercard, emphasized the company’s direction toward utility-driven digital assets:
“Mastercard is committed to unlocking new opportunities in digital assets through innovation and collaboration. Together with our partners, we will identify and validate high-impact use cases that deliver efficiency in digital payments. By advancing asset tokenization and stablecoin-linked applications, Mastercard is enabling faster, seamless, and more secure transactions.”
ADI Foundation’s Role in a Regulated Blockchain Economy
The ADI Foundation, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, focuses on empowering governments and institutions through compliant blockchain infrastructure. Its collaboration with Mastercard reflects a shared objective: bringing blockchain technology into regulated financial systems rather than positioning it outside them.
Ajay Bhatia, principal council member at the ADI Foundation, framed the partnership as part of a broader mission to expand access to digital finance:
“The ADI Foundation’s collaboration with Mastercard marks a pivotal step toward building a more inclusive and future-ready digital economy – and represents one step closer to reaching our goal of bringing 1 billion people into the digital economy by 2030.”
By combining Mastercard’s global payment expertise with ADI’s blockchain standards and compliance framework, both organizations aim to deliver solutions that can be adopted by financial institutions without regulatory uncertainty.
Regional Momentum: NEO PAY and INFINIOS Join the Network
Building on this foundation, Mastercard confirmed that NEO PAY in the UAE and INFINIOS in Bahrain are the latest partners to adopt stablecoin settlement capabilities under the initiative. Their participation expands the operational footprint of stablecoin-based payments across the Gulf region.
NEO PAY, which serves merchants and enterprises across the UAE, sees stablecoins as a bridge between traditional finance and decentralized payment models. CEO Vibhor Mundhada highlighted the benefits for merchants:
“Stablecoins are opening a new chapter in digital payments by combining the confidence of fiat currency with the advantages of blockchain. Our collaboration with Mastercard on stablecoins will give our merchants access to real-time settlement, broader digital liquidity and a way to connect everyday finance with emerging decentralized models.”
INFINIOS, a Mastercard principal member and global fintech enablement partner, will use stablecoins for both funding and settlement while working with financial institutions that are integrating blockchain payment rails. CEO Sherif Abdelsalam described stablecoins as a catalyst for the next phase of payments:
“Through our partnership with Mastercard, we are building a secure and scalable ecosystem that empowers businesses and consumers across the Middle East, driving financial inclusion and unlocking new and exciting opportunities for cross-border commerce.”
From Card Networks to Blockchain Settlement Infrastructure
This announcement follows Mastercard’s recent expansion of its partnership with Circle, enabling USDC and EURC settlement for acquirers across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Taken together, these moves show a clear strategic shift: Mastercard is embedding itself into the infrastructure of tokenized money rather than treating crypto as a peripheral add-on.
Instead of replacing existing systems, Mastercard is layering stablecoin settlement into its global network. Banks, fintech firms, and payment providers can opt into blockchain-based settlement where it offers clear advantages, while still relying on familiar card and payment rails for end users.
This hybrid approach may prove more attractive to enterprises that require regulatory certainty and operational continuity.
Over recent years, Mastercard has steadily built crypto-adjacent capabilities, including digital identity tools, on-chain analytics, and crypto-linked card programs. Stablecoin settlement represents a logical extension of that work, targeting back-end efficiency rather than consumer speculation.
Why the Middle East Matters
The Middle East, and the UAE in particular, offers an environment where regulated digital finance can scale. Cross-border trade, remittances, and international commerce are central to the region’s economy, making it an ideal testing ground for stablecoin settlement at scale.
For the UAE, Mastercard’s deeper involvement strengthens its position as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain-based innovation. For Mastercard, the region provides regulatory clarity and institutional support that allows real-world payment use cases to move from pilot programs to production systems.
As stablecoins mature, their most meaningful impact is increasingly found in enterprise payments, treasury management, and cross-border liquidity—not in speculative trading. Mastercard’s strategy places it directly at the intersection of those flows.
By partnering with the ADI Foundation and expanding its network of regional collaborators, Mastercard is signaling that stablecoins are no longer experimental tools. They are becoming a functional layer of global payments, built to operate within regulatory frameworks and designed to move value at the speed modern commerce demands.
