Mastercard has introduced Stablecoin Security, a stablecoin risk intelligence solution, with Borderless.xyz and Keyrails as initial partners.
Unveiled at Money20/20 USA, according to the official announcement, the solution is designed to help financial institutions detect fraud, scams, sanctions exposure, and other financial crime risk indicators across the lifecycle of a stablecoin payment, including the stage before funds are moved on-chain.
It draws on Mastercard’s existing fraud and risk capabilities, and targets cross-border and business-to-business (B2B) payments, two areas in which stablecoins are playing an increasing role. Stablecoin Security is launching first in North America, with commercial availability worldwide expected in 2027.
Multi-step transactions complicate risk assessment
Mastercard’s rationale centres on the structure of on-chain activity. A study by BIS, examining 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million Ethereum transactions in 2025, showed that almost 60% of them involved several steps instead of a direct payment between two parties. For financial institutions, this makes it more difficult to follow risk across the full journey of a payment, whether it relates to supplier payments, global trade settlement, or the movement of funds between countries and currencies.
To address this, Stablecoin Security pairs Mastercard’s payment intelligence with blockchain analytics, giving institutions visibility at several points in the transaction lifecycle. According to Ann Johnson, executive vice president, Security Solutions at Mastercard, combining the two data sets extends the company’s fraud and risk tooling to digital asset payments, allowing institutions to base decisions on a clearer view of risk.
API-based delivery and workflow integration
The solution is delivered through a platform-agnostic application programming interface (API) that evaluates data points such as transaction context, the origin of funds, exposure to restricted parties, and scam indicators. It produces intelligence across both the fiat and stablecoin stages of a payment, including a risk score generated before the payment is finalised. Because the output can be fed into existing fraud, compliance, and case management workflows, institutions can support stablecoin payments without building a dedicated risk framework.
Mastercard illustrates the use case with a US-based coffee retailer buying beans from a supplier in Brazil. The shop initiates the payment through its bank, which uses stablecoins to move the funds across borders. Before the funds are dispatched, the bank’s service provider checks the transaction through Stablecoin Security to establish whether it can go ahead or if it requires additional review. The supplier then receives the funds and converts the stablecoins into local currency.
Partners and expansion plans
Both initial partners participate in Mastercard’s Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets startup engagement programme. Keyrails focuses on high-value cross-border trade payments, particularly in emerging markets, while Borderless.xyz offers financial institutions a single connection to licensed stablecoin providers in more than 113 countries and 72 currencies, manages the operations behind each payment, and routes every transaction to the most appropriate provider.
Alex Garn, chief product officer at Borderless.xyz, said the collaboration is intended to give institutions the context needed to manage risk across providers, markets, and currencies without adding operational complexity.
In 2027, Mastercard plans to extend the reach and adoption of Stablecoin Security, including through BVNK, the stablecoin infrastructure provider it acquired in August 2026.
The launch adds to Mastercard’s existing digital asset capabilities, which include Mastercard Crypto Credential and Crypto Secure. Together, these form part of the company’s aim to bring trust, security, and transparency to stablecoin and digital asset transactions as these forms of money movement become more embedded in global payments.
