SoFi Becomes First Nationally Chartered U.S. Bank Live With Stablecoin Settlement on Mastercard, 70% Running on Solana

SoFi Technologies announced September 22 that stablecoin settlement is now live across its full debit and credit card program via Mastercard's global payments network, making SoFi Bank, N.A. the first nationally chartered, OCC-regulated bank in the United States to reach that milestone. The bank's entire card program, which processes more than $25 billion in annualized volume, is now settling in SoFiUSD, the dollar-pegged stablecoin SoFi issued in December 2025.

Of the roughly $332 million in SoFiUSD in circulation as of late August 2026, about $232.6 million (70%) sits on Solana. The remaining 30%, approximately $100 million, is on Ethereum.

How SoFiUSD Settles on Mastercard's Network

The mechanics don't require any changes from the merchants on the receiving end. Businesses accepting SoFi-issued cards collect funds as they always have; Mastercard's network routes the settlement through SoFiUSD on-chain. Through SoFi's Big Business Banking platform, merchants can access those settled funds in a SoFi Bank account and withdraw them around the clock, at no cost. They do not need to hold SoFiUSD or build any blockchain integration.

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto described the timeline in the official announcement: "In six months, SoFi and Mastercard took stablecoin settlement from an idea to a live product." The partnership was first announced in March 2026.

Sherri Haymond, Mastercard's global head of digital commercialization, said the live launch represents a shift from study to execution: "Stablecoins become meaningful when they solve real problems that businesses face." The company said internally it characterized the move as going from "exploration to live production."

Why 70% of SoFiUSD Supply Is on Solana

SoFiUSD launched in December 2025 on both Solana and Ethereum. The 70/30 distribution reflects the operational case for Solana in payment settlement: sub-second finality and transaction fees below a cent make it practical for continuous, high-frequency clearing. Traditional card settlement windows (typically one to two business days, with weekend and holiday gaps) are replaced by 24/7 finality on-chain.

Mastercard added Solana to its stablecoin settlement network in June 2026, alongside Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Tempo, and XRPL. SoFi's card program now runs on that Solana leg of Mastercard's multi-chain infrastructure.

Galileo Extension and What Comes Next

The live launch covers SoFi's own card program, but the companies outlined plans to extend SoFiUSD settlement to other card issuers through Galileo, SoFi's payments-technology subsidiary. Galileo provides card issuing and processing infrastructure to banks and fintechs beyond SoFi itself. If those clients adopt the same settlement path, the transaction volume flowing through SoFiUSD on Mastercard's network could grow well beyond SoFi's own $25 billion.

SoFi and Mastercard also told The Block they are exploring cross-border payments and remittances as further applications for SoFiUSD on the network.

Other early participants in Mastercard's stablecoin settlement program include ARQ, CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei.

Where This Sits in Payments-on-Solana

Visa launched USDC settlement on Solana in December 2025. By mid-2026, that program had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, per Genfinity. The SoFi-Mastercard launch brings a different structural element: SoFiUSD is issued by the bank itself, not by a third-party stablecoin company, which means it comes in as an OCC-regulated instrument rather than crypto-company paper.

That distinction matters to the "first nationally chartered bank" claim. SoFi Bank, N.A. holds a national bank charter and is FDIC-insured. Other early Mastercard stablecoin network participants are either non-bank fintechs or state-chartered institutions. The OCC-regulated tier had not gone live on the network before this announcement.

USDC alone holds $8.09 billion in Solana supply across 9.12 million wallets as of September 23, 2026. SoFiUSD's $232.6 million is a small share of that established base, but it arrives via a card network carrying tens of billions in annual payment volume rather than through on-chain DeFi activity, a different growth vector for stablecoin supply on Solana.