Consumers and businesses will receive crypto-linked Mastercard credit, debit, or pre-paid cards that instantly convert their cryptocurrencies into traditional fiat currency. The cards will be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted around the world, both online and offline.
The giant payment processor Mastercard has partnered with three cryptocurrency service providers Amber Group, newly minted crypto unicorn Bitkub in Thailand, and CoinJar in Australia, to launch crypto-linked Mastercard payment cards. The three companies are the first Asia Pacific Region-based cryptocurrency service providers to join the MasterCard Global Crypto Card Program.
Offering access to dedicated Fintech and digital asset experts
MasterCard initiated a program that facilitates Fintech companies by reducing entry barriers, streamlining the onboarding process, and offering access to dedicated Fintech and digital asset experts and in-market teams to accelerate their growth and execution. Rama Sridhar, Executive Vice President, Digital & Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, stated:
“In collaboration with these partners that adhere to the same core principles that Mastercard does – that any digital currency must offer stability, regulatory compliance, and consumer protection – Mastercard is expanding what’s possible with cryptocurrencies to give people even greater choice and flexibility in how they pay.”
All three cryptocurrency service providers currently offer digital asset purchase and exchange services in their respective jurisdictions.
All three of these digital asset service providers offer cryptocurrency purchase and exchange services in their domestic markets. With the new venture, the firms will find it easier to achieve their goals to make it simpler and faster for crypto firms to bring such payment cards to market.
MasterCard is preparing for future with crypto
MasterCard’s new venture into the Asia Pacific market adds an extra crypto offering to the payment processor’s growing investment in the digital asset space. Apart from beginning a project to facilitate leading banks in offering cryptocurrency service, the firm recently acquired a Silicon Valley-based crypto-analytics firm Ciphertrace for an undisclosed price. The firm stated then that “digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce.”
MasterCard has also recently partnered with Fintech company Uphold and crypto exchange Gemini to create crypto credit cards, and it’s also developed platforms to help governments test central bank digital currencies. Two weeks ago, the firm also pointed out that 77% of Millennials said they are interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies, with about 75% saying they would use crypto more if they understood it better.
The cryptocurrency market has tripled during that past year alone, and speculation is high that the launch of the first Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States helped Bitcoin prices surge nearly 20% to an all-time high of roughly $67,000.
Tom is a long-serving freelance writer who specializes in the blockchain and cryptocurrency niche. You may even call him a crypto-enthusiast with over 10-years’ experience in content creation, blog writing, and SEO. He is a philosophical figurehead who believes that to make our world a better place, we must invest in incorruptible products and procedures, of which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are leading examples.
