Rain, the stablecoin infrastructure firm valued at $1.95 billion, has announced a new partnership with Mastercard. The deal allows Rain to issue both credit and prepaid cards through Mastercard’s network. It also opens up possibilities for using stablecoins in payment settlements across the card giant’s rails.
This move marks a significant shift for the company, which previously built its business mainly around Visa. Rain’s technology lets businesses issue cards that allow users to spend stablecoins anywhere Visa is accepted. Settlements to Visa happen on-chain using stablecoins. Now, Rain is entering what it calls a “dual card network” phase.
The focus of the Mastercard collaboration is on large institutional clients. These are companies that are deeply tied to a single payment network and may not have the flexibility to switch providers easily. Rain says it can help them add stablecoin settlement capabilities without changing their existing systems. Rain handles the on-chain treasury, conversion, and settlement in the background.
Stablecoins Move From Trading to Settlement
The partnership fits into Mastercard’s broader push into stablecoins. Mastercard has already acquired infrastructure firms like BVNK and run pilots with issuers such as Circle and Paxos. These efforts aim to use stablecoins as wholesale settlement assets inside its Multi-Token Network.
Industry observers note that Rain’s model is now being extended to Mastercard. With Rain, all customer settlements happen in stablecoins, and payments to the card network settle on-chain. This turns card networks into interfaces for blockchain-based settlement rails.
Mainstream firms are also weaving stablecoins into their own systems. Stripe recently rolled out solutions that let merchants accept stablecoins and settle in fiat. Coinbase has pushed USDC into commerce, remittances, and on-chain corporate payouts.
Infrastructure for the Next Phase
A recent crypto.news analysis described Rain as trying to build the “global backbone for stablecoin payments.” The firm has seen 38x volume growth and is making stablecoin spending feel indistinguishable from traditional card transactions.
Rain’s platform lets businesses issue wallets, convert fiat to stablecoins, and make cross-border payouts with the same ease as domestic transfers. As regulatory clarity improves, stablecoins are rapidly shifting from trading chips on exchanges to settlement mediums for enterprise payments and cross-border commerce. That thesis is now being tested at scale by Rain and Mastercard.
