The international processing company MasterСard announced the launch of the Crypto Card program for partner banks of this payment system. Processing of crypto cards will be carried out on the basis of its own software package MasterСard Crypto Credential.
The company intends to launch a new payment instrument on the market that allows spending and paying for purchases linked to digital assets. The launch of the payment solution will allow linking the user’s cryptocurrency wallet with the MastercСard payment system. Thanks to this, the owner of cryptocurrency assets will be able to use their funds to make purchases in all parts of the world where bank cards of this system are accepted for payment.
“MasterCard’s solution will allow customers to spend their cryptocurrencies as easily as they spend fiat currency with regular bank cards. It is essentially a digital wallet connected to the international payment system. We are here to allow customers, merchants and businesses to move digital assets the way they want. It is your choice and your money,” explained Raj Dhamodharan, head of cryptocurrency and blockchain at the company.
A MasterCard representative added that the functionality will allow customers to independently top up their card balance and manage their own cryptocurrency wallets. The Crypto Card program is reportedly being implemented with the support of cryptocurrency service provider Tap Global, crypto lender Nexo, and digital asset exchange Gemini.
At the initial stage, cryptocurrency card holders will be able to make purchases in bitcoins and ether. Then the developers promise to expand the list of crypto assets available for payment transactions. MasterCard did not specify the cost of annual servicing of cryptocurrency cards and the size of the commission for transactions.
In May, MasterCard announced the launch of a pilot program for authentication of peer-to-peer cryptocurrency p2p transactions for countries in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States.
