Mastercard to Distribute Open USD Stablecoin via BVNK Platform

Mastercard is set to offer Open USD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, to business clients through its BVNK platform. The card giant acquired the stablecoin infrastructure firm in August 2026, and is now positioning the company as the primary delivery vehicle for the token.

Open USD, or OUSD, launched on September 30, 2026. It was developed by the Open Standard consortium rather than Mastercard itself. The company is acting as a distributor and infrastructure provider, supporting the token across Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo.

The Open Standard consortium includes more than 200 companies and has committed over $1 billion in near-term liquidity. By utilizing this consortium model, the project aims to distribute issuance and strategic influence across a broad group rather than relying on a single entity.

Mastercard’s acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, consisting of a $1.5 billion base price and $300 million in contingent payments. BVNK currently operates in over 130 countries and processes roughly $30 billion in annual stablecoin payment volume.

The infrastructure firm also brings more than 25 regulatory licenses to the partnership, including a MiCA license for the European Union. This regulatory foundation is expected to support the distribution of OUSD across global markets.

Market participants will be watching to see how much of BVNK’s existing $30 billion in annual volume migrates to OUSD. Other key metrics include the speed at which the consortium deploys its $1 billion in liquidity and whether competing payment networks introduce their own stablecoin initiatives.