Mastercard has launched a crypto-to-fiat card together with Web3/blockchain platform MetaMask and cryptocurrency payments company Baanx.
The MetaMask Card, announced on Wednesday (August 14), will allow MetaMask wallet customers to use cryptocurrencies for everyday fiat currency purchases where Mastercard is also accepted. The card is being piloted on a limited basis – with a few thousand digital-only cards – for users in European Union countries and the UK.
“Users of self-custodial wallets have faced challenges when they want to spend funds outside of the crypto world,” the companies said in a press release. “Typically, they would have to transfer their crypto assets to an exchange, convert them to fiat, and then transfer those funds to a traditional bank account to spend. This process has been a barrier to the wider adoption of crypto as a method of exchanging value.”
The new offering is part of a Mastercard program designed to connect the Web2 and Web3 ecosystems and works like a traditional debit card: users can make purchases directly from their MetaMask wallet, retaining control of their money until the moment of the transaction.
Cryptocurrencies are then instantly converted to fiat money and are available for purchases online or in-store. Users must hold their cryptocurrencies on the blockchain on the Linea network and use MetaMask to set spending limits on the card, but can store their keys wherever they want.
“We are working on the vision of enabling non-custodial neobanking,” said Simon Jones, Chief Commercial Officer at Baanx. “Everyone with access to a mobile phone should have access to a range of basic financial services as standard. This would have a huge impact in countries with large numbers of people with little or no access to banking services.”
In other crypto news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week about the challenges facing the sector in the wake of recent actions by federal regulators.
In this case, it was Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank, one of the few crypto-friendly banks in the U.S., that was served a 13-page regulatory enforcement notice by the Federal Reserve related to the lender’s digital assets and dollar token activities.
Despite these obstacles, research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that using cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments could be the promising use case the sector has been looking for. This data showed that blockchain-based cross-border solutions, particularly stablecoins, are increasingly being adopted by companies looking for better ways to transact internationally and expand.
“Separate PYMNTS Intelligence also found that blockchain offers numerous potential benefits to meet the unique needs of regulated industries, including finance, healthcare, identity verification and supply chain management,” the report said.
