Mastercard is introducing requirements to keep European payments running during network or power outages. All newly issued cards in Europe must support offline payments by February 2027. All new payment terminals must support the feature by May 2027. The initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the resilience of Europe’s payment networks.
Also that day, CEO Michael Miebach highlighted stablecoins’ potential to streamline cross-border payments. The comments followed a new partnership with SoFi and fintech Orbi to link crypto balances with everyday card spending. Together, the moves reflect Mastercard’s continued push to strengthen its core infrastructure and expand in crypto and AI-driven commerce.