On September 26, the financial services provider Mastercard announced a partnership with cryptocurrency and fiat exchange hi to launch a debit card that users can customize with their own NFT avatars. 

“Not only do the NFT cards look amazing, this is a great way for people to show which online community they belong to, but in the real world,” Sean Rach, co-founder of the deliberately lowercase hi, said in a statement.  

More than 25 European countries’ customers will be qualified for the card, Mastercard said, however, the debit card can be utilized by any trader in the world that accepts Mastercard payments.  

The members of Hi will have access to 6 variants of the customizable debit card, which clients get access to by staking the HI token. According to the press release, Hi members in the gold tier are qualified to get custom debit cards.  

HI — the token — isn’t right now accessible on centralized exchanges in the US, like Coinbase, but clients can buy the token through decentralized exchanges and Coinbase Wallet.   

The hi and Mastercard teams are wagering on NFT holders’ urge to display their status, even as interest in many collectibles is by all accounts lessening.  

There is a limited number of NFT collection options from which the cardholders can choose for their card avatar, like CryptoPunks, Goblins, Bored Apes, and Azukis. 

“As consumer interest in crypto and NFTs continues to grow, we are committed to making them an accessible payments choice for the communities who wish to use them,” Christian Rau, senior vice president of crypto and fintech enablement at Mastercard, said in the statement.  

Mastercard has shown interest in the developing digital asset space lately. In 2021, the company revealed its plans to permit users to earn cryptocurrency rewards through its loyalty program. 

In June 2022, the financial giant collaborated with Coinbase to allow payments for NFTs through the exchange.  

“Coinbase was basically an on-ramp for crypto for many, many users. Millions of people were able to access bitcoin for the first time by using Coinbase,” Prakash Hariramani, Coinbase senior product director for payments and commerce, said in a statement at the time. “So we want to do the same thing for NFTs with Mastercard by solving the pain points — to make it as easy as possible to buy an NFT and make sure it’s the best consumer experience.”