Mastercard is launching a new pilot project that could make life much easier for its crypto customers: The credit card company has announced the integration of stablecoins on a trial basis.
The credit card company MasterCard has been thinking out loud about setting foot in the crypto sector for a long time. Now the company has announced its first crypto integration. Specifically, it is about the support of stablecoins, which Mastercard would like to give its partners from the crypto industry now on a trial basis.
Mastercard makes it easier for crypto service providers to work together
So far, all transactions in the Mastercard network have been made in fiat money. This means that Mastercard partners from the crypto industry – for example payment processors like BitPay or providers of crypto debit cards – have always been forced to convert into USD and Co. The same goes for Bitcoin exchanges that offer credit card deposits. With the support of stablecoins, the stumbling block of crypto-to-fiat conversion is eliminated.
Today, not all crypto companies have the basic infrastructure to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and we’re making it easier. Through our involvement with Evolve, Paxos, Circle and the larger digital assets community, Mastercard expects to deliver on our promise of consumer choice to offer people around the world options on how and when to pay,
explained Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Mastercard, in a press release on his company’s stablecoin advance. It also states that the (custodial) wallet providers Uphold and Bitpay are “in conversation”. The two FinTechs are to provide the wallet technology for the pilot project, while the banks Metropolitan Commercial Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust are responsible for issuing crypto cards.
Also on board is the FinTech Circle, which issues the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). With Paxos, another company with a stablecoin focus is one of the initiators of the pilot project.
[…] We can enable instant transaction processing on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year. By partnering with Mastercard, we bring the benefits of crypto and blockchain into the everyday lives of consumers around the world,
Paxos CEO and Co-Founder Charles Cascarilla is pleased to work with Mastercard.