On Tuesday, the global technology company Mastercard announced its plan to revised crypto card programme with crypto businesses to offer cards that will enable users to spend their crypto assets holdings anywhere within Mastercard payment networks.

Like traditional fiat currency, U.S dollar, this Mastercard’s crypto card programme will enable the cryptocurrency holding like Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Either or Litecoin to enter and settle in Mastercard’s network, when holders spend their crypto holdings using the card. Crypto providers will also be benefited by this enhancement, as for them, until now it was operationally challenging to go for conversion from cryptocurrency to U.S dollar every time when payment is done in cryptocurrency. Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products & partnerships at Mastercard said “Today not all crypto companies have the foundational infrastructure to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and we’re making it easier”.

To reduce the friction between fiat and crypto, the New York-based financial institution Mastercard along with their associated partners are planning to enable the traditional banks and crypto companies to offer the card option to their users through which crypto holdings can be spend where Mastercard is accepted. As per the report, the American fintech company is discussing and demonstrating for this innovative product with Evolve Bank & Trust and Metropolitan Commercial Bank to issue cards, as well as with Uphold and BitPay to provide real-time crypto wallet technology. Mastercard is also connecting with i2c Inc., Apto Payments and Galileo Financial Technologies to support processing and program management. “BitPay believes the future of payments is on the blockchain because it transforms how consumers send, receive, and store money around the world,” said Stephen Pair, co-founder, and CEO of BitPay. “Working with Mastercard’s pilot to turn digital assets into dollars for everyday spending will accelerate consumers’ use of crypto as a means of commerce.”

Along with that Paxos Trust Company, the leading blockchain infrastructure and regulated stablecoin issuance platform, and Circle, a global financial technology firm and the principal operator of the USD Coin (USDC) will use their platform for instant conversion when payment transfer initiated. 

Earlier plans made my Mastercard 

Mastercard already shared its plan in February this year, to enable its merchants receive and settle transactions in cryptocurrency by the end of 2021.

Indrani Bose

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA