Singapore – Mastercard has launched Stablecoin Security, a risk intelligence solution that combines payment and blockchain data to help financial institutions assess risk in stablecoin payments, the company said.
Borderless.xyz and Keyrails are the initial partners. According to Mastercard, the tool aims to flag fraud, scams, sanctions and other financial-crime indicators throughout the payment lifecycle, including before funds move on-chain.
The launch comes as stablecoins take a larger role in cross-border and business-to-business payments. Mastercard says that growth has made risk harder to assess across increasingly complex payment flows.
To illustrate the problem, Mastercard cited a study of 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million Ethereum transactions in 2025. It found that nearly 60% were complex, multi-step transactions rather than simple, one-to-one payments.
That complexity can make it harder for institutions to assess risk across the full payment journey, from supplier payments and global trade settlement to moving funds across countries and currencies. Mastercard says Stablecoin Security addresses the gap by pairing payment intelligence with blockchain analytics.
“Stablecoins are creating new possibilities for value exchange, but financial institutions need the right intelligence and controls to participate with confidence,” said Ann Johnson, Executive Vice President, Security Solutions of Mastercard.
“By bringing payment and blockchain insights together, Stablecoin Security extends Mastercard’s fraud and risk capabilities to digital asset payments, giving institutions a clearer view of risk to make more informed decisions and build greater trust,” Johnson explained.
Technically, the solution is delivered through a platform-agnostic application programming interface (API). It analyses signals including transaction context, where the funds came from, exposure to restricted parties and scam indicators.
The system generates intelligence across the fiat and stablecoin payment lifecycle, including a risk score before a payment is completed. Institutions can integrate it into existing fraud, compliance and case management workflows, which Mastercard says avoids the need for a separate risk operating model.
Mastercard outlined one scenario involving a Boston coffee shop that buys coffee beans from a supplier in Brazil. The shop’s bank moves the funds in stablecoins, and its service provider runs a Stablecoin Security check before the payment is sent to determine whether it should proceed or be reviewed further.
On the partnership side, Mastercard is working with Borderless.xyz and Keyrails to apply the tool in real-world payment flows. Both firms take part in Mastercard’s Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets startup engagement programme.
Keyrails supports high-value cross-border trade payments, particularly in emerging markets. Borderless.xyz, meanwhile, gives financial institutions a single connection to licensed stablecoin providers in more than 113 countries and 72 currencies, and handles the operations and routing behind each payment, according to Mastercard.
“Stablecoin payments should be simple to launch and manage, even when the infrastructure behind them is complex,” said Alex Garn, Chief Product Officer of Borderless.xyz.
“Working with Mastercard will help give financial institutions the context they need to manage risk across providers, markets and currencies without adding another layer of operational complexity,” Garn further expressed.
Keyrails also commented on the collaboration. “Global trade needs trusted infrastructure for stablecoin settlement,” said Rajpal Khangura, Co-Founder and Chief Compliance Officer of Keyrails.
“Working with Mastercard strengthens the risk intelligence behind high-value trade payments, helping institutions move money across borders with greater visibility, confidence, and settlement certainty,” Khangura continued.
Looking ahead, Mastercard plans to expand the solution’s reach and adoption in 2027, including through BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure provider it acquired in August 2026.
“As stablecoins become more embedded in global payments, security needs to evolve alongside the technology,” said Kimberly Mescal Julien, Global Head of Partnerships, BVNK.
“We look forward to exploring how innovations such as this can help strengthen the infrastructure underpinning stablecoin transactions and support the ecosystem’s continued growth,” Julien concluded.
