Mastercard has partnered with one of Australia’s oldest crypto exchanges CoinJar, to introduce the country’s first cryptocurrency card for in-store and online purchases using crypto holdings anywhere within Mastercard payment networks.

On Tuesday, this payment card will be available to Australian consumers in digital form. It is compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay which enables Australian users to have digital wallet that can be accessed through mobile device. In September, it will be available in physical form too. As per official declaration, the card supports around 30 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Ripple (XRP). This card can only be procured through company’s in-house app, which has updated its “Terms of Service to include CoinJar Card and a new complaints process.”

How the card will work:

The user of the Coinjar card need to have Coinjar app (latest version). In the bottom of the app there will be a card icon that need to be clicked before payment transaction. The user needs to select the crypto type through which the payment will be done. The cryptocurrency will be converted automatically to Australian dollars. There will be no monthly fees. Every time users spend $1 AUD in transaction fees, 100 CoinJar Rewards will be returned to users as an in-house rewards program which the user can redeemed at the exchange’s Rewards store.

Mastercard’s development towards crypto space:

To allow further exposure of cryptocurrency to its consumers, Mastercard is getting involved with Circle, Paxos, Evolve Bank & Trust, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Uphold, BitPay, Apto Payments, i2c Inc. and Galileo Financial Technologies. Recently Mastercard declared about a new global support program for crypto and blockchain start-ups and a pilot program with stablecoin USDC which will enable crypto purchases to be made anywhere Mastercard payment networks. In addition to the program, last month Mastercard announced enhancements to their program for crypto wallets and exchanges.

Other company offering crypto related services in Australia:

Along with Mastercard, Visa is also offering crypto-based services in Australia with a Bitcoin debit card that supports transactions for major altcoins. There is also declaration of partnership between Visa and another Australian crypto fintech firm, CryptoSpend, allowing for crypto purchases to be made on the Visa network.

Indrani bose

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA