Bahrain‑based digital financial infrastructure company INFINIOS has officially gone live with Mastercard on stablecoin settlement, marking a major milestone in the evolution of regulated digital payments in the Middle East.
With this launch, INFINIOS becomes the first issuer in Bahrain, apart from being one of the first fintechs in the Middle East, to enable Mastercard settlement using stablecoins, unlocking faster, more efficient settlement capabilities for modern commerce.
The integration also forms part of Mastercard’s broader regional strategy to bring regulated, real‑world blockchain use cases into the mainstream payments ecosystem, bridging traditional finance with tokenized money. INFINIOS was selected as an early live partner following rigorous regulatory, operational, and technical readiness requirements.
“By going live with Mastercard on stablecoin settlement, INFINIOS is helping define the future of how money moves—faster, more transparent, and designed for a digital‑first economy. Bahrain is once again proving it can lead in payment innovation and financial ecosystem transformation,” said Sherif Abdelsalam, CEO of INFINIOS.
“In addition, the collaboration establishes the foundation for 24/7 settlement capabilities that will be introduced progressively over time, addressing long‑standing inefficiencies in cross‑border and institutional payments while maintaining full regulatory compliance,” the senior official remarked further.
Mastercard announced INFINIOS as one of its initial Middle East partners for stablecoin settlement as part of its blockchain and digital asset expansion strategy, reinforcing Bahrain’s role as a forward‑looking fintech hub.
“At Mastercard, we are bringing our global network of partners together to shape the future of stablecoin adoption and power a new wave of digitalization in financial services. Our collaboration with INFINIOS will advance the move toward trusted, enterprise-grade digital settlement rails across the Middle East,” said Saud Swar, country manager, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, and other Levant at Mastercard.
“With this go‑live, INFINIOS positions itself at the core of next‑generation payment infrastructure, enabling banks, fintechs, and enterprises to access Mastercard’s global network with the speed and programmability of blockchain‑based money,” he concluded.
INFINIOS has been expanding its operational footprint into the Middle East, in terms of making stablecoin settlement the new normal in the region.
INFINIOS, in June, entered into a strategic agreement with Circle Internet Financial, a subsidiary of Circle Internet Group, one of the world’s leading financial platform companies. Through the strategic arrangement, INFINIOS will be able to deliver faster, more secure, and more globally interoperable digital payment and treasury solutions for businesses and financial institutions in the Gulf region. The company will integrate with Circle’s financial infrastructure, including USDC, EURC, and API-enabled onchain payment capabilities for payouts and treasury operations.
“Through its integration with Circle’s infrastructure, INFINIOS aims to support institutional and enterprise use cases, including cross-border payments, treasury and liquidity management, merchant settlement, platform payouts, tokenized financial services, and embedded finance. The collaboration also reflects a shared focus on compliance, transparency, and regulatory alignment, including KYC, AML/CFT, and data protection standards,” the Bahraini company said in June, while announcing the agreement.