- Ripple, Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini launch a pilot to settle fiat credit card transactions using RLUSD on the public XRPL.
- WebBank, issuer of Gemini Credit Card, will explore near-instant Mastercard settlement with a regulated USD-backed stablecoin.
- RLUSD is fully backed by cash and cash equivalents, operates under a New York trust framework, and has surpassed $1B in circulation.
- Rollout to XRPL and operational use remain subject to regulatory approvals, with no changes to the consumer checkout experience.
Ripple has teamed up with Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini to pilot using the RLUSD stablecoin to settle fiat credit card transactions on a public blockchain. Announced at Ripple’s Swell 2025 event, the initiative spotlights how regulated stablecoins could streamline the back end of familiar card flows without changing the customer experience.
The companies aim to demonstrate that blockchain can improve speed, cost and auditability in traditional settlement rails while maintaining strict compliance and security standards. Rather than promoting new consumer behavior, the effort focuses on the institutional B2B layer that moves funds between banks and networks after a card swipe.
What the pilot covers and how it works
At the center of the test, WebBank—issuer of the Gemini Credit Card—will explore settling Mastercard transactions using RLUSD on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). If adopted in production, it would be among the first times a U.S.-regulated bank settles real-world card payments with a regulated stablecoin on a public chain.
From a user perspective, nothing changes at checkout: consumers still tap or swipe, and merchants get paid as usual. The innovation is behind the scenes, where the settlement leg could move in near real time via RLUSD instead of relying on slower clearing windows. That shift matters especially for cross-border flows, where time delays and costs accumulate.
The partners plan to begin onboarding RLUSD to XRPL over the coming months, subject to regulatory approvals. Success could provide a template for other card programs that want to test blockchain-based settlement while preserving today’s consumer experience.
RLUSD and XRPL: the infrastructure stack
RLUSD is a USD-pegged stablecoin introduced by Ripple in late 2024 under a New York trust framework, and is fully backed by cash and cash equivalents. Ripple says circulation has already surpassed $1 billion, reflecting demand for a compliant, enterprise-grade settlement asset.
The asset operates across public networks including XRPL and Ethereum, enabling institutions to choose the venue that best fits their operational needs. For banks and payment providers, the combination of on-chain traceability and programmatic reconciliation can reduce back-office friction and support near-instant, sub-second settlement cycles.
The roles of Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini
Mastercard has long explored how regulated digital assets can integrate with its global network. The company positions this pilot as part of a broader effort to bring trusted digital value into established payment flows, leveraging existing risk controls, rules and compliance tooling.
Gemini previously collaborated with Ripple on an XRP-themed edition of the Gemini Credit Card. In this phase, the exchange and WebBank are working with Ripple and Mastercard to test RLUSD for card settlement, with executives emphasizing that faster, more transparent settlement can enhance liquidity management and operational visibility for issuers and program managers.
Why it matters for the payment stack
Today’s card settlement often takes one to three days to fully clear between acquirers, issuers and networks. By moving the settlement leg to RLUSD on XRPL, banks could reduce delays and fees, freeing up working capital and smoothing liquidity across regions.
For institutional finance teams, on-chain settlement can streamline reconciliation, improve cash forecasting, and deliver better end-to-end visibility. The promise is a more efficient back office without forcing consumers or merchants to adopt new behaviors.
Ripple’s leadership has framed the objective simply: bring blockchain’s speed and finality to the back end of a payment flow people already understand—the card swipe—while keeping compliance and controls front and center.
Compliance, governance and risk considerations
Rollout is contingent on regulatory clearance, and the pilot is designed with compliance-by-default in mind. Participants highlight governance of reserves, robust audit and reporting, and alignment with existing risk frameworks as non-negotiable pillars.
Operationally, institutions will weigh interoperability, jurisdictional differences, and resilience planning (including failover to traditional rails) as they evaluate production use. RLUSD’s design—backed by cash and equivalents and issued under a New York trust structure—aims to provide the assurances banks expect when settling at scale.
This pilot brings together Ripple, Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini to test whether a regulated, USD-backed stablecoin can modernize the settlement layer of card payments. If approvals are secured and the model proves out on XRPL, the approach could shorten settlement times, cut costs and enhance transparency across card programs, all while keeping the familiar point-of-sale experience intact.
