MasterCard Financial News

On Wednesday, self-custody crypto exchange Edge announced a no-Know Your Customer (KYC) debit Mastercard that can be funded with Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

AMSTERDAM — The boss of Goldman Sachs-backed digital bank Starling has doubled down on criticisms of crypto, calling digital currencies a threat to the safety of payment infrastructure.

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said on Tuesday that he does not expect SWIFT, one of the most widely used platforms for cross-border fiat transactions, to exist in five years' time. 

Despite the present market attitude, forward-thinking firms, executives, and investors are optimistic about the crypto-industry’s long-term potential. Harold Bossé, MasterCard’s Vice President of New Product Development and Innovation, believes that crypto-assets and blockchain technology will be widely adopted sooner rather than later.

Financial companies in Israel are increasingly moving into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), with two competing credit card firms working on BTC investment and cashback features.

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According to the filings Mastercard sees four key applications for its services in the metaverse:“Downloadable music files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio, and video authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs);…E-commerce software to allow users to perform electronic business transactions in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”“Marketplaces for digital goods and NFT backed media”“Processing of virtual credit card, virtual debit card, virtual prepaid card, and virtual payment card transactions in the metaverse… Payment processing services, namely credit card, prepaid card, gift card, and payment card transaction processing services in the metaverse; Providing financial information in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”“Events and performances in the metaverse in the fields of finance, cryptocurrency, and NFTs”“Online communities for digital assets, NFTs, metaverse and virtual worlds”Mastercard is not alone in tapping into a virtual economy that Citibank analysts estimate could be worth $13 trillion by 2030Kondoudis last month also picked up on patent filings by rival card scheme American Express to to register its name, logo, and slogans for a range of banking services in the virtual world.

Nexo and Mastercard launch world's first crypto-backed payment card

Issued by WebBank, with Mastercard as the exclusive network, the card lets users earn up to three per cent crypto on dining, two per cent crypto on groceries and one per cent crypto on all other purchases.Cardholders can choose from more than 60 cryptocurrencies currently supported for rewards on Gemini's exchange platform, including bitcoin, ether and dogecoin, with rewards automatically deposited to their Gemini accounts.Pravjit Tiwana, CTO, Gemini, says: "With the Gemini Credit Card, users also have access to a single trusted platform to buy, sell, store, and earn real interest in crypto, and we couldn't be more excited to make it widely available across the United States."

Gemini, a major cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, has launched its crypto credit card.

Digital assets platform Nexo has inked a deal with Mastercard and DiPocket to launch crypto cards that will allow its customers in Europe to spend digital currencies without touching their funds. 

Major cryptocurrency loan company Nexo has officially launched a crypto-backed Mastercard card enabling users to pay for services with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) without selling their crypto.

Digital asset business Nexo (NEXO) has launched a new card that allows the company’s customers to spend their funds without selling their digital assets in selected European markets.

The card can be used at 92 million merchants worldwide where Mastercard is accepted.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

According to the filings Mastercard sees four key applications for its services in the metaverse:“Downloadable music files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio, and video authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs);…E-commerce software to allow users to perform electronic business transactions in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”“Marketplaces for digital goods and NFT backed media”“Processing of virtual credit card, virtual debit card, virtual prepaid card, and virtual payment card transactions in the metaverse… Payment processing services, namely credit card, prepaid card, gift card, and payment card transaction processing services in the metaverse; Providing financial information in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”“Events and performances in the metaverse in the fields of finance, cryptocurrency, and NFTs”“Online communities for digital assets, NFTs, metaverse and virtual worlds”Mastercard is not alone in tapping into a virtual economy that Citibank analysts estimate could be worth $13 trillion by 2030Kondoudis last month also picked up on patent filings by rival card scheme American Express to to register its name, logo, and slogans for a range of banking services in the virtual world.

Payment company Mastercard has filed for 15 trademarks related to NFTs, crypto and metaverse, The Block reported.

Payments giant Mastercard has filed 15 nonfungible token (NFT) and metaverse trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO.

The crypto community-backed charitable venture that earlier received a USD 2.5m fund boost from the Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has announced it has launched a charity crypto debit card that will allow Ukrainian users to access funds and humanitarian aid.

NFT verification facilitating platform bitsCrunch has partnered with MasterCard for a new Web3 project. bitsCrunch will be incubated through their Master Start Path. The expertise from MasterCard will help ingenious later-stage startups grow and reach a global customer base. bitsCrunch and MasterCard Start Path will provide customers with cutting-edge collaboration solutions through this partnership. Mastercard is entering the crypto space to facilitate transactions where non-crypto users may purchase digital assets with fiat currencies (credit and debit cards).

Setting out its plans for 2022/23, the PSR has again raised concerns about the "high card fees" that merchants pay to Visa and Mastercard, noting that they have risen "significantly" in recent years. The watchdog says it has sent information requests about the levels and structure of these fees and will proceed based on the information gathered.