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Mastercard said it has entered a strategic alliance with the ADI Foundation to expand stablecoin settlement and tokenized asset use cases across the Middle East, according to a December 16, 2025, announcement in Dubai, UAE.
The Mastercard ADI Foundation alliance signals a practical shift in how Mastercard wants to approach digital assets, with a focus on payment execution and institution-ready rails, even as stablecoins move from pilot programs to day-to-day finance.
Related: Mastercard Brings USDC Settlement to Africa and the Middle East in a New Circle Deal
Why Mastercard Is Pairing Tokenization With Stablecoin Payments in MENA
In its announcement, Mastercard tied the partnership to the UAE’s goal of becoming a hub for digital assets and blockchain infrastructure, framing the work around faster settlement, clearer transaction visibility, and more resilient payment flows for banks, fintech firms, merchants, and consumers.
Mastercard and ADI plan to initiate their strategic collaboration through stablecoin-based settlement for domestic and cross-border transactions, stablecoin-linked payment cards, and tokenized real-world assets use cases, in addition to supporting remittance and B2B trade flows using digital assets.
According to the announcement, focusing on such areas will advance interoperability, strengthen regulatory compliance, scale innovative decentralized blockchain infrastructure, and promote secure, transparent, and scalable use of blockchain technology across financial ecosystems.
What Comes Next
Prakriti Singh, Mastercard’s executive vice president, core payments, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, highlighted the company’s commitment to unlocking new opportunities in digital assets through innovation and collaboration. According to Singh, Mastercard plans to cooperate with its partners to identify and validate high-impact use cases that deliver efficiency in digital payments.
Singh noted that Mastercard’s efforts in advancing asset tokenization and stablecoin-linked applications are enabling faster, seamless, and more secure transactions. He considers them initiatives that underscore the firm’s commitment to building trusted bridges between traditional finance and blockchain systems.
One Billion Users by 2030
Meanwhile, Ajay Bhatia, a Principal Council Member at the ADI Foundation, considers the company’s collaboration with Mastercard a pivotal step toward building a more inclusive and future-ready digital economy. Bhatia noted that the event brings his company a step closer to reaching its goal of bringing one billion people into the digital economy by 2030.
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