Mastercard is taking the step for its users in APAC to ease stablecoin wallet payments in all regions where Mastercard payments are valid.
Mastercard and the Australian firm Stables are partnering together to put together a stablecoin wallet for users in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Users in the APAC region would, henceforth, be able to spend their stablecoins in all places Mastercard payments are available. Mastercard has taken several positive steps for the web3 space in the past, with the latest one also expected to increase the adoption of stablecoin payments.
Stables would be building the stablecoin wallet, whose payment card can be used by users to settle stablecoin payments on the Mastercard network. In the process, the USD coin would be converted to fiat currency, while Mastercard would support the payment card. Kallan Hogan, who heads the fintech division of Mastercard Australia, welcomed the development and said this was a significant development for web3 adoption, while Mastercard was committed to easing payments for their users.
“Stables is building a solution for the Web3 sector leveraging Mastercard’s global network and cyber and intelligence tools, including CipherTrace and Ekata, with trust and security at the core,” said Hogan. The stablecoin wallet will be initially available for users in Australia but will be gradually expanded to Europe, the United States, the UK, and most of the Asia Pacific region. It will be rolled out in the second quarter of 2023, as informed by Daniel Li, the Chief Operating Officer of Stables.
While the stablecoin wallet will accept many stablecoins, all will be converted to USDC at zero cost. Daniel Li voiced his support for stablecoins, saying they would act as a link between traditional and decentralized finance. The stablecoin wallet will support many currencies in the future but will be started with the Australian dollar.