Mastercard to usher in new era: Make everyday payments with cryptocurrencies

• Mastercard believes digital assets like cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies have the potential to transform the financial system. 
• Mastercard is focused on crypto cards and this is the first area to expand and rollout crypto payment services.
• The American multinational card giant has outlined five areas where cryptocurrencies will become everyday payment methods. 

Mastercard, one of the biggest financial institutions in the US, is keen on rolling out crypto payment services to include in users’ everyday lives. The US giant’s steps crypto payments are expected to drive mainstream adoption of digital assets. 

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Mastercard sets eyes on mass adoption of crypto, metaverse and NFTs

Mastercard, an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in the New York has identified five key crypto areas it is working on in order to “turn cryptocurrencies into an everyday way to pay.” 

The ability to own and spend digital currencies could soon be as seamless as contactless card payments, said one executive of the company. On Wednesday, the firm announced that it has identified five different areas of work to drive everyday adoption and utility of crypto. 

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Digital Asset and Blockchain Products & Digital Partnerships at Mastercard, was quoted as saying:

Digital assets like cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies [CBDCs] have the potential to transform the financial system’s infrastructure.

The first of the five key areas is crypto cards and Mastercard has already rolled out dozens of new crypto card programs in 2022. In collaboration with Gemini, Mastercard offers a credit card with crypto rewards for US-based users. In Europe, the world’s first physical crypto debit card made its debut and Argentinian users got a prepaid card through Mastercard’s partnership with Binance. 

The second key area is services and the giant is a provider of cybersecurity, digital ID, advisory and open banking services to tens of thousands of financial institutions. The firm looks forward to adding support and services for crypto players and offer consulting dedicated to their practice. 

Payments is the third area where Mastercard has partnered with a handful of top-tier crypto-focused companies, including Paxos, Circle, Evolve and Uphold to develop ways for people to quickly convert their crypto to fiat to make payments. 

The fourth area of Mastercard’s plan is focused on crypto on the giant’s business networks and the plan is to introduce Mastercard-approved digital assets onto their networks. 

Metaverse and NFTs are the fifth area in which Microsoft would roll out its partnerships and extend support for the ecosystem to grow. Dhamodharan said,

We’re [Mastercard] excited to prioritize these core areas to give people more access to the crypto ecosystem and help it keep innovating and growing.

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