Global payments corporation Mastercard has joined hands with crypto payments firm MoonPay to explore crypto and its related services and tools.
Mastercard and crypto payments business MoonPay have recently announced their joint venture at an event in Las Vegas. The payments corporation will explore crypto and use its related tools in its operations. MoonPay’s subsidiary, Otherlife, would have an important role in the collaboration. Both would also work on unlocking the potential of crypto services and tools and using them in experiential marketing.
Keith Grossman from Mastercard took to social media and claimed Mastercard would be leveraging MoonPay’s web3 portfolio. On the other hand, MoonPay would also incorporate several Mastercard features into their payment solutions. It includes Mastercard Send, Click to Pay, and Mastercard Crypto Credentials.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Mastercard, a prominent supporter of Web3 and the digital economy, to redefine customer loyalty and engagement. Joining forces will create new opportunities to showcase blockchain’s potential in establishing unique connections and meaningful moments while broadening our industry’s overall reach,” said the co-founder and CEO of MoonPay, Ivan Soto-Wright.
Grossman from the crypto payments firm and Raja Rajamannar from Mastercard announced the partnership at the event.
Mastercard has been actively in the news in 2023 for its various crypto initiatives. Mastercard Crypto Credential, for instance, is a feature that they released recently. MoonPay would likely use the feature due to its useful feature as a user verification tool. The tool is an important use case in the crypto space, with rising instances of fraud in unregulated regions.
Meanwhile, Mastercard is also a participant in CBDC trials. With central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) gaining momentum with central banks, adoption for the same has also risen steadily. Mastercard had partnered with the Reserve Bank of Australia for the trials.
In 2023 alone, CBDC adoption has witnessed a jump, with multiple central banks running pilot programs on digital currencies. At the same time, the crypto market has seen exponential returns of over 100% in the current year. With investors’ interest in crypto seeing a jump, the industry has supported better crypto regulatory frameworks.
Regions like Europe have been leading the change with their newly crafted crypto law. Cities like Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong have also evolved as crypto hubs. Moreover, the US has also seen increasing discussions from lawmakers regarding crypto assets. The move is significant considering important decisions like the approvals for crypto ETFs are pending with US regulators.
Even so, private corporations like Mastercard are helping drive the change at such a crucial juncture for the crypto industry. With other payment firms like PayPal joining the bandwagon, the crypto sector is set to receive a complete makeover. Users of crypto services and payments could rise, while central banks could make CBDCs a central part of financial services.