Mastercard Charges Forward With Crypto Immersion

Mastercard wants to bring crypto to the mainstream by making it easier for banks to participate in the burgeoning industry. The payments giant therefore intends to announce a program which will assist financial institutions in offering cryptocurrency trading capabilities.

Mastercard will thus serve as a bridge between PayPal and Paxos. According to the company, Mastercard and Paxos shall manage regulatory compliance and security, which are two of the main reasons banks typically avoid the asset class to begin with.

Despite the infamous volatility associated with crypto, Mastercards Chief Digital Officer, Jorn Lambert, stated that there is still significant demand for the asset, however it is also worth mentioning that about 60% of respondents want to test the waters a bit first before getting fully involved.

Lambert further indicated that numerous consumers have expressed a passing interest in crypto, but would feel more comofortable if those services were provided by familiar financial institutions instead of relatively unknown entities.

Both Mastercard and Visa have been making waves in the crypto space. Mastercard has already collaborated with Coinbase on NFTs and Bakkt to enable banks and merchants in its network to provide cryptocurrency-related services. Visa recently announced that it has over 70 crypto collaborations and has partnered with FTX to provide crypto debit cards in 40 countries.