Global payments giant Mastercard has entered into a strategic alliance with the ADI Foundation, an Abu Dhabi-based organization dedicated to building sovereign-grade blockchain infrastructure. The partnership aims to advance asset tokenization and stablecoin-enabled payments across the Middle East, directly supporting the UAE’s ambition to become a premier global hub for digital assets.
The collaboration will initially focus on validating high-impact use cases including domestic and cross-border stablecoin settlement, stablecoin-linked payment cards, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). These efforts are designed to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized ecosystems while ensuring regulatory compliance and interoperability.
Expanding the Stablecoin Ecosystem
Building on Mastercard’s earlier expansion with Circle to enable USDC and EURC settlement for regional acquirers, two new prominent partners—NEO PAY in the UAE and INFINIOS in Bahrain—have now adopted these stablecoin settlement capabilities.
- NEO PAY (UAE): The payments subsidiary of Mashreq will provide its merchants with real-time settlement and broader digital liquidity. Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEO PAY, noted that stablecoins combine the “confidence of fiat currency with the advantages of blockchain,” positioning enterprises to lead the next wave of financial innovation.
- INFINIOS (Bahrain): A Mastercard principal member, INFINIOS will utilize stablecoins for both funding and settlement. CEO Sherif Abdelsalam stated that the partnership creates a secure and scalable ecosystem that empowers cross-border commerce and drives financial inclusion across the Middle East.
Driving Towards a Digital Economy Vision
The alliance with the ADI Foundation is a key pillar in the organization’s mission to onboard one billion people into the digital economy by 2030. By leveraging the foundation’s compliant blockchain infrastructure—which recently launched its ADI Chain Mainnet—the partners intend to pioneer practical solutions with meaningful societal impact.
Prakriti Singh, executive vice president, core payments, EEMEA at Mastercard, emphasized the company’s commitment to building “trusted bridges” between traditional finance and blockchain. She noted that these initiatives are designed to enable faster, more transparent, and resilient payment solutions for financial institutions, fintechs, and consumers alike.
Ajay Bhatia, principal council member at the ADI Foundation, added that combining the foundation’s high-performance infrastructure with Mastercard’s global expertise represents a “pivotal step” toward a future-ready digital economy in emerging markets.
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