Stablecoins Are Coming For Payments: US Bank Tests Cross-Border Transfers As Marqeta, BVNK Target Card Spending

U.S. Bankcorp piloted its stablecoin for cross-border payments as Marqeta and BVNK moved to put digital dollars on payment cards.

• U.S. Bankcorp settled a live cross-border payment between North American and European entities using USDC on the Stellar blockchain. 
• BVNK and Marqeta partnered to let companies issue stablecoin-backed cards, allowing users to spend digital dollars at merchants that already accept payment cards. 
• Mastercard sits behind both partners, having closed its BVNK acquisition in August while remaining a major Marqeta network partner. 

U.S. Bancorp (USB), a major American international bank holding company, said on Wednesday that it completed a live test transaction using USBDC, its private dollar-backed stablecoin, to settle a cross-border payment between bank companies in North America and Europe.

The transaction was live on the Stellar (XLM) blockchain while still integrated with the bank's core finance, risk, compliance, and operational systems, according to the announcement. 

XLM’s price was down over 0.6% in the last 24 hours, even as the broader cryptocurrency market moved higher. On Stocktwits, XLM was one of the top trending crypto tickers. Retail sentiment around the altcoin remained in the ‘bullish’ zone, accompanied by ‘high’ chatter levels over the past day

The bank said that the pilot tests include minting, payment redemption, freezing, and clawback features and confirm the quality of its own digital asset platform. U.S. Bank said that USD Coin (USDC) was one of the first stablecoins issued by a bank to be used on a public blockchain. 

Jamie Walker, Head of Digital Assets and Money Movement, called it “another step forward for our broader digital asset strategy.” The bank said it is exploring liquidity management, collateral mobility, and cross-border treasury operations as future applications. 

A Card Rail For Stablecoins

On Wednesday, another step for cryptocurrency stepping into the payments space was announced. BVNK and Marqeta (MQ) said they’re teaming up to provide stablecoin-backed card capabilities to fintech and non-crypto companies. 

The companies said that the integration will let Marqeta customers add stablecoin features to all their cards. This will let users spend digital dollars at stores that already accept standard credit cards. 

BVNK will provide the stablecoin infrastructure, and Marqeta will be in charge of card issuers, acceptance, and relationships with banks and merchants. 

Marqeta processed nearly $400 billion in payment volume in 2025. BVNK said it processes over $39 billion of analyzed payment volume. 

US Bank Expands Stablecoin Strategy With USBDC Pilot

BVNK co-founder and Chief Business Officer Chris Harmsey said the company's role is “to make that infrastructure invisible,” adding that developers shouldn't need deep blockchain expertise to use stablecoins. 

Marqeta Chief Strategy Officer Anthony Peculic said stablecoins are “becoming a durable complementary layer in global money movement,” and that the partnership lets customers issue cards that work anywhere.” He added that these are cards that are accepted without requiring merchants to change how they accept payments. 

MQ stock fell as much as 1.3% in morning trade and retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company slipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, while chatter remained at ‘low’ levels.

The Mastercard Link Runs Twice

The companies said that the partnership connects Marqeta to two parts of Mastercard's (MA) network at the same time. One of Marqeta's biggest partners is Mastercard. 

Since the acquisition closed in August, Mastercard has been operating BVNK's stablecoin infrastructure. Mastercard said the deal was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments.  

Stablecoin Competition Puts Circle Stock Under Pressure

All three companies support Open USD (OUSD). The developments come as the CLARITY Act remains stalled on the Senate floor, pending a vote on September 15. Visa (V), Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock (BLK), and Coinbase (COIN) have previously backed Open USD, which is seen as competing with Circle (CRCL).

CRCL’s price was down over 1% in morning trade amid broader market weakness. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CRCL remained in the ‘neutral’ zone, accompanied by ‘high’ chatter levels over the past day.

On Tuesday, Clean Street increased CRCL stock’s price target, calling it a “mirror image” of Mastercard. 

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