Mastercard is doubling down on stablecoins, unveiling new global end-to-end acceptance and payments capabilities.
With increasing global regulatory clarity, Mastercard is betting that stablecoins are evolving from crypto trading tools to an option that can bring efficiency and programmability to payments, disbursements, and remittances.
However, the payments giant argues that, while banks and fintechs are increasingly engaging with solutions built on stablecoins, global ubiquity and scale is contingent on everyday utility, seamless integration into existing financial systems, and an intuitive user experience.
It is bidding to tackle this with an integrated 360-degree approach to allow consumers and businesses to use stablecoins as easily as the money in their bank accounts.
The company has partnered with a host of crypto natives such as MetaMask, Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Crypto.com and Binance on wallet enablement and card issuance and acceptance. Now it is working with OKX to launch the OKX Card, providing millions with easy access to their funds.
Mastercard is also teaming up with Nuvei and Circle to give merchants the option to receive their payments in stablecoins such as USDC, regardless of how a consumer chooses to pay. It already offers this functionality across Paxos-issued stablecoins.
“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits for mainstream use cases are clear,” says Jorn Lambert, chief product officer, Mastercard. “To realise its potential, we need to make it as easy for merchants to receive stablecoin payments and for consumers to use them. We believe in the potential of stablecoins to streamline payments and commerce across the value chain.