Mastercard has announced a solution to enable cards to accept the conversion of cryptocurrencies into traditional fiat currency and thus make it easier for its partners to create programsthe company revealed in a statement sent to Executive Digest.
According to the "Executive Digest" portal, the solution now presented by Mastercard was developed on top of a blockchain infrastructure and a regulated platform for issuing stablecoins, in collaboration with Evolve Bank & Trust, Paxos Trust Company, and Circle, a global financial technology company and the leading operator of USD Coin (USDC), a digital stablecoin based on the US dollar.
This new approach from Mastercard, will allow more banks, partners and cryptocurrency companies to test and offer card options for people who want to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Assets, Blockchain Products and Partnerships at Mastercard, noted, "Not all cryptocurrency companies currently have the basic infrastructure to convert their cryptocurrencies into traditional fiat currency and we are making that easier. Through our partnerships with Evolve, Paxos and Circle and the larger digital asset community, Mastercard hopes to deliver on the promise of offering consumers the most options to pay for their purchases, how and where they want."
This upgrade in Mastercard's Crypto Card Program includes a number of partners, including Evolve Bank & Trust and Metropolitan Commercial Bank, with whom negotiations are underway to issue Uphold and BitPay cards supported by real-time cryptography technology, and i2c Inc., Apto Payments and Galileo Financial Technologies®, to support the processing and management of these types of programs.
With this enhancement to Mastercard's Crypto Card Program, Paxos and Circle will use their platforms to facilitate the conversion of crypto to fiat via fiat stablecoins, a class of cryptocurrency that offers price stability and is backed by its issuer. By making this process simpler, Mastercard gives more banks and partners the opportunity to offer their customers the option to pay with a cryptocurrency.
Meg Nakamura, CEO of Apto Payments, said, "As pioneers in cryptocurrency-based debit card issuance, we are very excited to see the level of investment that Mastercard and all associated partners are applying to innovative products."
Stephen Pair, co-founder and CEO of BitPay, said, "BitPay believes the future of payments is in blockchain because it transforms the way consumers send, receive and store money around the world. Working with Mastercard's pilot to turn digital assets into dollars for everyday spending will accelerate consumers' use of crypto as a means of payment.