According to CNBC, Mastercard is set to offer banks and merchants on its network the ability to integrate crypto in their products.
Millions of clients of the payments company will be able to integrate bitcoin wallets, credit and debit will be able to earn rewards in crypto.
Sherri Haymond, Mastercard’s executive vice president of digital partnerships, said:
Sherri Haymond Source: LinkedIn
We want to offer all of our partners the ability to more easily add crypto services to whatever it is they’re doing. Our partners, be they banks, fintechs or merchants, can offer their customers the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency through an integration with the Baktt platform.
Crypto firm Bakkt will provide custodial services in the new integration.
Details about the new offering are still not disclosed but CNBC suggests that the service will be first available in the US. According to Mastercard estimations, 2.8 billion Mastercards are in use and the payments network’s clients have relationships with over 20,000 financial institutions around the globe.
We’re lowering the barriers to entry, allowing people to take something like your rewards points and trade them into crypto. It’s an easy way to get going because you’re not using cash, you’re putting something that’s an idle asset sitting on your balance sheet, and we’re allowing you to put in to work.
Bakkt shares surged 234% following the news of the partnership. The company became public last week.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
