According to Journal du Coin, three initiatives announced in October 2026 are bringing stablecoins into existing payment networks. On October 15, Mastercard launched, together with BVNK, a platform where currencies and stablecoins coexist in a single account. On October 5, Stripe announced the expansion of its stablecoin card program. And on October 16, three Japanese megabanks published the results of a yen stablecoin trial.

Mastercard and BVNK: one account for currencies and stablecoins

According to Journal du Coin, the Global Money Platform is BVNK’s first integration since Mastercard completed its acquisition of the company in August, for $1.8 billion. A single API makes it possible to open multi-currency accounts where dollars, euros and stablecoins “coexist”, to convert from one to another in real time and to issue stablecoin-backed cards, in more than 130 countries according to the announcement. Outgoing payments go through Mastercard Move, which deposits a stablecoin balance into a local bank account.

The platform is presented as available now through BVNK. Nuvei, Marqeta, Ontop, Beem and Almond FinTech are named as the first integrators. Other elements, however, are forecasts: for 2027, Mastercard announces coverage of more than 40 currencies in more than 200 countries and territories, followed by agentic use cases and tokenized deposits, with no more precise timeline in the source.

“We believe the future of commerce will be built on interoperability between multiple forms of money,” says Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president for blockchain and digital assets.

Stripe: stablecoin cards in more than 100 countries by the end of 2026

At Stripe, the prepaid cards backed by a stablecoin balance are issued by Lead Bank and managed by Bridge, a company acquired for $1.1 billion in 2024. They come in physical or virtual form, for individuals as well as businesses; Kraken and Ramp already use them, according to the source.

On October 5, Stripe set the goal of more than 100 countries before the end of 2026. This is a target, not coverage already achieved. On the current situation, the source gives two figures that do not match: a launch in March in 18 countries on the one hand, and availability in 30 countries with a single integration on the other. The discrepancy is not explained.

According to the company, stablecoin card spending reached about $1.2 billion in September 2026 alone, triple the figure from a year earlier.

Same mechanism, different customers

The principle is the same on both sides: the customer holds digital dollars, the card converts them at the time of payment and the merchant gets paid in local currency without changing anything. According to Journal du Coin, Stripe targets platforms and fintechs that want to issue their own cards, while Mastercard targets banks and large accounts that want to connect stablecoins and fiat to their existing infrastructure.

Japan: a yen stablecoin still at the testing stage

MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) tested the joint issuance of yen stablecoins and their use for cross-border payments. The trial, announced on October 16, ran from July 17 to 23 with Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and the service provider TISI.

In the structure tested, the three banks are co-settlors of a trust for which Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking acts as trustee; the stablecoins take the form of beneficial interests in this structure. The scenario replicated settlements between Mitsubishi Corporation’s Japanese and overseas offices, over the full cycle: issuance, transfer, redemption.

According to the participants, the test confirmed the feasibility of the model within the scope tested. However, the press release publishes neither a quantified cost comparison nor a measured transfer time. No commercial service has been launched: the banks are aiming for initial real transactions during fiscal year 2026, which ends in March 2027, a timeline specified on June 10. The envisaged design, with reserves held in bank deposits and circulation limited to users verified by the banks, may still change, they state.

What has launched, what is still to come

In summary, according to the sources: the Mastercard and BVNK platform is announced as available, with extensions planned for 2027; Stripe’s cards are already in operation, while the goal of more than 100 countries has yet to be reached; the Japanese banks’ yen stablecoin has only been the subject of a test, and its move to commercial use still depends on design choices and on regulatory and operational work.

Sources

  • Journal du Coin: “Stablecoins: Mastercard and BVNK launch a fiat and crypto account, Stripe targets 100 countries with its cards”
  • Journal du Coin: “Crypto: 3 Japanese megabanks issue a yen stablecoin”