Mastercard Partners Kima for Stablecoin-Powered Prepaid Card Top-Ups

Mastercard has announced a significant integration with Kima Network, enabling stablecoin-powered top-ups for prepaid cards directly from self-custody wallets across multiple blockchains. This move is part of Mastercard’s broader initiative to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional finance. The integration leverages Kima’s decentralized settlement infrastructure, which has been incorporated into Mastercard’s Sandbox-as-a-Service platform. This program allows fintechs and issuers to experiment with innovative financial products in a controlled environment.

With Kima now onboard, users can top up Mastercard prepaid cards using stablecoins like USDC and USDT, instantly converting digital assets into real-world purchasing power. Kima’s settlement protocol is crucial in this setup, supporting value transfers across more than 10 blockchains, public or private ledgers, and traditional banking rails, without relying on custodians, smart contracts, or intermediaries. This infrastructure allows card issuers to integrate stablecoin top-ups directly within their apps, streamlining the process for end-users.

As part of the integration, Mastercard partners can simulate prepaid card top-ups from crypto wallets using Kima’s protocol within the sandbox. These transactions settle in real-time, enabling immediate card funding and global usability at over 200,000 ATMs and millions of point-of-sale terminals in more than 200 countries. Kima CEO Eitan Katz highlighted the significance of this partnership, stating that it represents a major milestone in turning stablecoins into everyday payment tools. Katz emphasized that the partnership aims to remove the complicated intermediaries between crypto and fiat, creating a secure, compliant, and scalable system.

Kima’s solution preserves user control by keeping keys in self-custody while enabling full compliance through protocol-level checks. User onboarding is handled by third-party banks or licensed service providers, who conduct KYC and AML procedures. Once verified, each transaction includes immutable metadata tags, which are automatically checked against local regulatory frameworks, ranging from the EU’s MiCA to Singapore’s crypto guidelines. This ensures that the system remains compliant with various regulatory standards.

Kima has already demonstrated the real-world viability of its settlement infrastructure. Earlier this year, Kima partnered with Pai, a prepaid card issuer, to pilot real-time stablecoin top-ups without relying on centralized exchanges. This pilot project showcased the practical application of Kima’s technology in facilitating seamless and efficient stablecoin transactions.

Beyond Mastercard, Kima is also contributing to institutional innovation efforts through its role in the European Central Bank’s digital euro project. Kima was recently named among 70 private-sector partners selected by the ECB to explore use cases for the digital euro. As a participant in the ECB’s “Pioneers” workstream, Kima will test how the simulated digital euro interfaces can be integrated into its settlement infrastructure. The company is expected to conduct independent experiments using ECB-provided APIs and specifications, with a focus on interoperability across public blockchains, private ledgers, and traditional banking systems. This involvement underscores Kima’s commitment to advancing the integration of digital currencies into mainstream financial systems.