MasterCard to give merchants the ability to accept Bitcoin later this year

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MasterCard is putting to work the ability to pay and receive in cryptocurrency later this year.

According to CoinDesk, a source familiar with the matter, the functionality will see Mastercard customers’ digital currency payments settled in crypto at participating merchants, a first for the financial giant. The company has not yet disclosed which digital currencies it intends to support, or where.

The details shed new light on CEO Michael Miebach’s Q4 pledge to integrate digital currency payments “directly on our network” in a move the new chief, helming his first earnings call on Jan. 28, said will provide maximal flexibility to customers and merchants alike.

Meanwhile, Mastercard already supports cryptocurrency transactions on its platform through a partnership with Wirex and Uphold. Though it only covers payment and not settlement and for the program to work, the coins are converted to fiat currency before reaching the merchant.

The new initiative promises to upend that dynamic among the store owners and businesses who opt-in. They will be able to conduct their business beyond the bounds of the fiat ecosystem, assuming, of course, their customers have crypto they’re willing to spend. 

In a publication on MasterCard website by Raj Dhamodharanits executive vice president for digital assets, blockchain products and partnerships, the company said it is preparing for the future of crypto and payments.

“Whatever your opinions on, cryptocurrencies— from a dyed-in-wool fanatic to utter sceptic— the fact remains that these digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world,” the blog post read.

“This is a big change that will require a lot of work. We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protection and compliance.

Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: 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 – traditional or crypto – however, they want.

“To be completely clear, not all of today’s cryptocurrencies will be supported on our network. While stable coins are more regulated and reliable than in the recent past, many of the hundreds of digital assets in circulation still need to tighten their compliance measures, so they won’t meet our requirements.”

All-in-all this development is to create possibilities for shoppers and merchants around the world to transact in an entirely new form of payment
While Nigeria government through CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) is clamping down on digital currencies in Nigeria due to the high risk and the fact that some people are using it to defraud Nigerians, the world, on the other hand, keep advancing towards making cryptocurrency economy a reality.
Just recently, Tesla CEO and world richest man, Elon Musk invested $1.5 billion into cryptocurrency and also publicly disclosed plans to accept crypto as means of payment for Tesla.
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