Mastercard joins Open USD stablecoin consortium
Mastercard, in collaboration with Visa, Stripe, BlackRock, and AptosLabs, has announced the launch of Open USD, a new stablecoin initiative developed by the “Open Standard” consortium. The project, which includes over 140 corporate partners, aims to address scalability and cost barriers in global cross-border transactions by providing a high-throughput, low-cost digital payment framework.
Unlike traditional stablecoin models that rely on a single issuer, Open Standard employs a governance structure that distributes reserve earnings among its partners. Stripe has already committed to adopting Open USD as its default stablecoin for business operations. According to the consortium, the token is designed to align with federal guidelines established by the GENIUS Act, positioning it as a compliant institutional tool for the growing $313 billion stablecoin market.
Securing B2B travel payments with Allianz Trade
Parallel to its digital asset expansion, Mastercard has entered a strategic partnership with Allianz Trade to enhance security for business-to-business (B2B) travel payments. This initiative leverages Mastercard’s Virtual Card Numbers (VCNs) to integrate trade credit insurance directly into payment workflows.
By utilizing Allianz Trade’s insurance solutions, issuers can provide more secure credit terms to online travel agencies (OTAs). If an agency fails to settle its obligations, Allianz Trade will manage the collection process and indemnify the issuer. This move is intended to reduce risk in complex travel payment flows, allowing for more robust credit support within the industry.