Mastercard said in a press release that it has formed strategic alliances with the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation to validate high-impact blockchain and stablecoin use cases, positioning the effort as a step toward tokenization and stablecoin-enabled payment innovation in the Middle East.

The collaboration will initially focus on stablecoin-based settlement for domestic and cross-border transactions, stablecoin-linked payment cards, and tokenized real-world asset use cases, alongside remittances and B2B trade flows. Mastercard said the work is intended to improve interoperability, strengthen regulatory compliance, and scale secure, transparent blockchain infrastructure across financial ecosystems, supporting the UAE’s ambition to be a global digital-asset hub.

Mastercard added that the announcement follows its expanded partnership with Circle to enable USDC and EURC settlement for acquirers across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and said NEO PAY in the UAE and INFINIOS in Bahrain have adopted stablecoin settlement capabilities. Next, the market will watch for which pilots graduate into live deployments and how quickly banks, fintechs, merchants and consumers adopt the new rails.

Source: Mastercard.

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Filed under: News - @ December 16, 2025 5:17 pm