The Solana Foundation on Tuesday unveiled a new developer platform aimed at making it easier for banks, payments companies, and other financial institutions to build products on its blockchain network, announcing partnerships with three major financial firms at launch.
Mastercard, Western Union, and Worldpay have joined as early users of the platform, according to the announcement, each deploying it for distinct purposes.
Mastercard is using SDP to enable stablecoin settlement on the Solana network, while Worldpay, the payments processing giant, is applying it to merchant payments and settlement. Western Union, whose core business has long been cross-border money transfers, is exploring how the platform can extend its existing capabilities onto the blockchain.
“The next phase of digital asset innovation will be defined by practical use cases that integrate seamlessly with existing financial systems,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive VP of blockchain and digital assets, in a statement.
“As an early user of Solana Developer Platform, we're helping enable direct stablecoin settlement for customers on select blockchain networks—beginning with Solana—combining the speed and programmability of blockchain with the reliability, security and global reach of the Mastercard network," he added.
The platform draws on infrastructure partners across four categories: node infrastructure providers such as Alchemy and QuickNode, custody wallet solutions including Fireblocks and Coinbase, compliance tools from firms like Chainalysis and Elliptic, and payment ramp services. The platform launched in a sandbox environment built on Solana's test network, with broader availability expected to follow.
