MasterCard announced intentions to support cryptocurrency in 2021, opening the way for more than 30 million retailers to invest digital assets on its nearly one billion consumers.
The business believes this will open up new consumers to merchants and create loyalty with current customers who are already moving from traditional fiat options to digital assets.
“It’s about choice. MasterCard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value”
According to coitelegraph.com, while the global payments giant stated that due to its “reliability and security” it plans to embrace stablecoins, Mastercard refused to mention any particular cryptocurrencies it would incorporate.
Mastercard, however, presented four main requirements for the assessment of future assets: robust consumer protection, including consumer privacy and security, strict compliance with KYC, compliance with local laws and regulations, and stability as a means of payment. MasterCard also noted that to support central bank digital currency initiatives, or CBDCs, it is “actively engaging with several major central banks around the world”
The announcement by MasterCard also reported growing demand among its consumers for digital assets, noting that many consumers in the current bull market have been purchasing crypto assets with their MasterCards.
“Digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world,” MasterCard concluded. “We are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want. It should be your choice, it’s your money.”
For some time now, the payment provider has been active in crypto payments, working with Wirex and BitPay to build crypto cards, but no cryptocurrencies have moved into the network of MasterCard.
