Mastercard on Monday agreed to acquire London-based stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK in a deal worth $1.8 billion, extending its push into digital asset payments as it seeks to combine traditional payment networks with blockchain-based settlement for businesses worldwide.

The acquisition, which remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in late 2026, will see BVNK's technology integrated across Mastercard's payment network.

BVNK said its infrastructure, which processes around $30 billion in annual payment volume for customers including Worldpay, Deel, Rapyd and Flywire, will enable Mastercard to offer twenty-four-hour stablecoin settlement for processors and acquirers, while adding stablecoin checkout capabilities to its payment gateway. The fintech said its existing services, customer relationships and management team will remain in place while the transaction awaits approval.

Jesse Hemson-Struthers, co-founder and chief executive of BVNK, said the deal represented "the most ambitious phase of our journey yet" and would allow the company to accelerate its mission of making global value transfers instant through stablecoins. He said: "This partnership will enable us to accelerate our mission in ways that we never could have alone."

The transaction comes as Mastercard continues to expand its commercial payments business beyond card issuing into embedded finance and digital assets.

Alongside the acquisition announcement, the company unveiled new capabilities for its Mastercard In Control virtual card platform, including issuer-enforced spending controls, enhanced clearing controls and expanded API functionality designed to simplify how businesses create, manage and scale virtual card programmes. Mastercard said its virtual card ecosystem now supports issuers, platforms and corporates operating across 43 countries and 174 currencies.

Marc Pettican, global head of corporate solutions at Mastercard, said businesses were demanding greater security and flexibility as commercial payments became increasingly digitised and embedded into enterprise software. "We're expanding our virtual card capabilities to deliver more unified and scalable experiences – helping partners simplify how they implement and scale virtual card programs with greater security, control and consistency," he said.

The company said its Commercial Connect API now enables businesses to create virtual cards and initiate payments through a single integration, while new security controls allow issuers and corporate customers to set tighter limits throughout the payment lifecycle. Mastercard added that fraud rates on virtual cards are less than one-fifth of those recorded on non-virtual cards, with lower rates still for cards issued through its In Control platform.

Partners said the acquisition and product expansion would strengthen digital commercial payments. Scott Southall, global head of Citi Commercial Cards & Domestic Payments at Citi, said the bank would become the first issuer to roll out Mastercard's new virtual card security capabilities globally later this year, adding that the partnership would help clients "streamline payments and operate more securely and efficiently around the world."

Concentric, the venture capital firm that first backed BVNK in 2018, said the acquisition reflected growing institutional confidence in stablecoin infrastructure. Kjartan Rist, co-founder and managing partner at Concentric, said: "Mastercard's acquisition is an exceptional outcome for BVNK, and we believe it demonstrates what can be achieved when exceptional founders are backed with long-term conviction and active company building."

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