
The trio of partnerships with Amber, Bitkub and CoinJar make it easier for consumers and corporates to spend cryptocurrency on physical or digital Mastercard payment cards.
Partnership
In partnership with Mastercard, three leading cryptocurrency service providers in Asia Pacific will be launching crypto-funded Mastercard payment cards. For the first time, consumers and businesses in the Asia Pacific region will be able to apply for crypto-linked Mastercard credit, debit or pre-paid cards that will enable them to instantly convert their cryptocurrencies into traditional fiat currency, which can be spent everywhere Mastercard project is accepted around the world.
These three companies are the first APAC-based virtual currency firms to join Mastercard’s Crypto Card Program. The announcement comes at a time when some merchants are already accepting payments in digital currencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. According to a Mastercard survey, 45 percent of those surveyed in APAC say they are likely to consider using cryptocurrency in the next year.
The launch comes as the total market capitalization for digital assets just ballooned to $3 trillion for the first time on record, roughly the size of the entire UK economy.
Quotes
“Cryptocurrencies are many things to people—an investment, a disruptive technology, or a unique financial tool. As interest and attention surges from all quarters, their real-world applications are now emerging beyond the speculative,” said Rama Sridhar, Executive Vice President, Digital & Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “In collaboration with these partners that adhere to the same core principles that Mastercard does – that any digital currency must offer stability, regulatory compliance and consumer protection – Mastercard is expanding what’s possible with cryptocurrencies to give people even greater choice and flexibility in how they pay.”
“Amber Group is committed to serving clients with best-in-class technology and innovative product offerings. By joining forces with Mastercard, we will leverage our combined technology, solutions, and expertise to offer users in applicable jurisdictions a more streamlined digital finance experience,” said Michael Wu, Founder and CEO of Amber Group.
“Thailand is one of the most crypto-oriented markets in Asia Pacific, and so turning that broad asset ownership into something which is usable in an everyday context is a major step forward for Bitkub and our customers,” said Jirayut Srupsrisopa, Founder and Group CEO of Bitkub. “To make this happen, we are very pleased to be connected to Mastercard via our valued payments partner 2C2P to create a sophisticated card solution that allows crypto users to make payments by converting cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency. I believe that our strong partnership will accelerate consumers’ use of crypto as a means of commerce, making payments more efficient and facilitating new economic activity for businesses worldwide.”
“As one of the world’s longest-running crypto exchanges, we’re thrilled to partner with a global giant like Mastercard to make cryptocurrency more accessible and useful than it’s ever been before,” said Asher Tan, CEO of CoinJar.