TL;DR Breakdown:
- Mastercard is planning to support direct crypto transactions on its payment network.
- Users won’t have to undergo the expense of converting cryptos to fiat, vice versa.
Last year, an online global payment platform, PayPal, made headlines across multiple cryptos and international news outlets when it disclosed plans to enable crypto services. PayPal already reported a massive increase in crypto transactions on their platform, although the service isn’t available for all the customers in different countries. This year, another big-name payment network, Mastercard, is looking to integrate support for digital currencies on its network.
This backs simply unpopular opinions that cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, are becoming unavoidable for payment companies. Note that PayPal, Mastercard, including Visa once cracked down on cryptocurrencies during the Bitcoin rally in 2018. However, their tunes on cryptocurrencies have changed.
Mastercard is planning to deal with cryptocurrencies
The second-largest global payment network, Mastercard, made this known in a blog post on the 10th of February. They are planning to enable cardholders to make direct transactions with digital currencies on their network. The crypto service is especially targeted at merchants on its network, but will only support a selected number of cryptocurrencies, according to the announcement. The company also plans to prioritize compliance and consumer protections for the service.
Noteworthily, the payment company already serves crypto-related firms, like BitPay and Wirex. However, it strictly requires them to convert digital currencies to traditional currencies before transacting them on the network. So, the development today will ultimately enable users to reduce the time and cost in converting between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies once it launches. This is another big news for the cryptocurrency industry and could cause more adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Visa next?
“Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice,” one of the executives, Raj Dhamodharan, said. “Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants, and businesses to move digital value.”
Mastercard has become the latest payment company to announce plans for cryptocurrencies. Hopefully, Visa shouldn’t relent. Visa already mentioned plans to support digital currencies whenever they are largely welcomed by the public as a means of exchange.
