Mastercard announced today that it will improve its card program for cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges. This would make a transformation of cryptocurrency to fiat less complicated.
Mastercard will work with Evolve Bank and Trust, Paxos Trust Company, and Circle to test this new capability. It’ll enable banks, crypto companies to offer card options to people to spend their digital assets anywhere MasterCard is accepted.
Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products & partnerships at Mastercard, commented: “Today not all crypto companies have the foundational infrastructure to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and we’re making it easier.”
The enhancement to Mastercard’s existing Crypto Card Program includes a suite of partners. Mastercard is in discussions with Evolve Bank & Trust and Metropolitan Commercial Bank to issue cards. They are also discussing with Uphold and BitPay to provide real-time crypto wallet technology. Also, with i2c Inc., Apto Payments, and Galileo Financial Technologies® to support processing and program management.
With this enhancement to Mastercard’s Crypto Card Program, Paxos and Circle will use their platforms to facilitate the conversion of crypto to fiat through fiat-backed stablecoins. They are from a class of cryptocurrency that offers price stability and is backed by reserve assets. Making the process simpler will allow banks and crypto partners the opportunity to offer their consumers the choice of cryptocurrency. Payment companies are continuing to trial stablecoins like USDC for transactions. Visa announced to conduct a small USDC transaction earlier this year.
