Mastercard Network Will Support Select Cryptocurrencies

Mastercard has announced it will be offering support for cryptocurrencies on its network this year, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes after several other firms have pledged to make similar moves, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, which announced a purchase of $1.5 billion in bitcoin Monday (Feb. 8) and said it would soon be accepted as a form of payment. Square, PayPal and asset manager BlackRock have also supported crypto, Reuters reported.

Mastercard already gives users the ability to transact with cryptocurrencies via cards, albeit not through the network, according to Reuters.

“Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment,” Mastercard said, per Reuters. “This change may open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets.”

Mastercard said not all cryptocurrencies will be supported on the network because many of them haven’t tightened their compliance measures, Reuters reported.

Cryptocurrencies have long struggled to win the approval of mainstream investors and the general public, with the speculative nature and possible money laundering connections being hard sells.

Last year, Mastercard expanded Accelerate, its cryptocurrency partner program, to streamline the ways crypto wallet providers can issue secure and compliant cards for their customers, PYMNTS reported. The first partner was Wirex, which launched Mastercard-branded payment cards to let consumers pay with cryptocurrency reserves.

Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president of Digital Asset and Blockchain Products and Partnerships, said at the time that the company was looking to expand ways for people to spend crypto.

Mastercard was technically using crypto to convert to fiat, rather than spending cryptocurrency directly with merchants. Its program helped consumers by streamlining the process of paying.

“I think when we create more options for consumers shopping or for firm transactions, we create more avenues for solving problems that couldn’t be solved easily before,” Dhamodharan said at the time.