Mastercard Continues To Expand Its Crypto Payment Card Program

By Kevin • April 30, 2023 10:38 am • Comments

Mastercard is known as one of the leading payment companies in the traditional financial industry that currently provides payment services all over the world.

The company has announced this week that it plans to continue to expand its crypto payment card program which means that it is looking to partner with even more crypto firms.

This is quite bullish for the crypto industry as it means that a leading financial company is willing to double down on crypto which will entice other financial institutions to do the same.

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So far, Mastercard has already formed partnerships with many high profile crypto companies such as Binance, Nexo, and Gemini.

These partnerships essentially allowed for people to spent crypto the same way they would with a credit card which has helped the industry achieve more mainstream adoption.

FinBold.com reports:

Mastercard’s head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, said:

“We have dozens of partners around the world who offer crypto card programs, and they continue to expand. Providing access to crypto safely is also part of our value proposition, and we’re continuing to do that.”
Overall, this is an important development, as the banks have become quite wary of crypto clients. In 2022, multiple major crypto firms collapsed, the biggest of which was the crypto exchange FTX.

Simultaneously, US regulators are actively cracking down on different crypto companies. Some of the biggest cases involved the US CFTC suing Binance in March, calling it an “illegal” exchange and its compliance program a “sham.”

Meanwhile, banks like NatWest and Santander have limited the amount UK customers can transfer to crypto exchanges. Many did not like this, feeling like the banks were deciding how they were allowed to spend their money.

Mastercard is only one out of multiple payment networks that are widely used and Visa is also likely looking at doing the same thing when it comes to crypto.

The number of users that have been using crypto-linked cards have recently surged, especially as there are concerns with inflation as well as a potential banking crisis.

Additionally, the recent surge in Bitcoin and many other digital assets has made ownership of a crypto card more attractive.

On the other hand, holding cash at the bank seems to fail at preserving the value of the capital which many investors are now actively trying to avoid.

CryptoSlate concludes:

Meanwhile, the recent regulatory scrutiny appears to have reduced traditional financial institutions’ appetite for such partnerships. Several crypto firms are currently struggling to find banking partners.

Companies such as Visa and American Express, enthusiastic about crypto in 2021, have become relatively quiet.

American Express walked back on its plan to use crypto as an option to redeem points. Visa also broke off its partnership with FTX to provide credit cards for the now-bankrupt exchange.

However, Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, insists that it will continue to partner with crypto companies to build new products.

Amidst all these, Mastercard appears to be seeing an opportunity. Dhamodharan stated that the company is enthusiastic about the underlying blockchain technology.

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