Mastercard unveiled Stablecoin Security, a service for assessing risks in stablecoin payments, at Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas on October 19. The service is designed to help financial institutions identify fraud and sanctions risks in stablecoin payments before funds move onto a blockchain.
Mastercard cited the complexity of stablecoin transaction flows as the reason for introducing the service. According to a study published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and highlighted by the company, about 60% of transfers involving three major stablecoins on Ethereum in 2025 were part of complex, multistage transactions. The finding suggests that institutions need to examine not only individual transfers but also the broader context in which transactions occur.
The service combines Mastercard's payment data with blockchain analytics to generate risk signals. It analyzes transaction context, the source of funds, links to sanctioned entities and indications of fraud to produce a risk score before a payment is completed. Financial institutions can connect this information to their existing fraud prevention and compliance operations through an application programming interface (API), using it to decide whether to proceed with a payment or conduct further review.
The first partners are Borderless.xyz, which connects licensed stablecoin providers across more than 113 countries, and Keyrails, which supports trade payments in emerging markets. The service will launch first in North America, with global commercial availability expected in 2027. Mastercard said it also plans to expand coverage in 2027 through stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, which it acquired in August 2026. The announcement did not disclose service pricing or the methodology used to calculate risk scores.