Mastercard To Integrate Crypto Payments This Year

The American multinational financial services provider, Mastercard, has recently revealed its plans to offer merchants the option of receiving payments in cryptocurrency. 

The company announced that it would start supporting a few selected cryptocurrencies on its network later this year in an official blog post.

However, the payment processing giant has not disclosed which cryptocurrencies it will be supporting or where it will support them. It mentioned that it would carefully evaluate the cryptocurrencies against its digital currencies principles before making a choice.

Strict KYC

The company also noted that its decision on which cryptocurrencies to support would be focused on consumer protection and compliance.

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Therefore, it will be making a decision based on four critical criteria: consumer protection, including the security and privacy of client information, strict KYC and AML compliance, strict adherence to local laws, and the stability of the digital currency payment medium.

Last year, Mastercard had partnered with Wirex and Uphold to create crypto cards that allow people to transact using their cryptocurrencies. However, these transactions were only limited to payment, not settlement, as the digital currencies were often converted to fiat before they reached the merchants.

With this new initiative, Mastercard plans to allow store owners and merchants to take their businesses far beyond the fiat ecosystem, reaching a broader client base with crypto as a medium for payment and settlement.

The company reiterated its philosophy on cryptocurrencies, stating that it does not offer clients investment advice on whether to use crypto or not. 

It said, “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.

Unmistakable

Mastercard also did not fail to acknowledge the current upward trend that cryptocurrencies are experiencing. The company noted that millions of its clients use their cards to purchase cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin.

The company stated that the trend is unmistakable irrespective of people’s opinions regarding cryptocurrencies. 

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It said, “Whatever your opinions on cryptocurrencies — from a dyed-in-wool fanatic to utter skeptic — the fact remains that these digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world. To be clear, this data is not of any individuals — it’s anonymized and in aggregate — but the trend is unmistakable.”