Credit card company Mastercard introduced a new program this week that allows financial institutions to bring secure crypto trading capabilities and services to their customers.
The program, called Crypto Source, will give Mastercard’s financial institution partners access to a comprehensive suite of buy, hold, and sell services for select crypto assets, along with proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services. Further, Crypto Source is complemented by Mastercard Crypto Secure, which brings additional security to the crypto ecosystem and assists card issuers with compliance and complex regulations.
“Our commitment is simple – to explore crypto and the underlying digital assets technology to support consumer choice in payments. Today is an exciting step in our crypto journey that draws on the strengths of our global businesses, from open banking and identity verification to analytics and fraud monitoring to settlement solutions,” Jorn Lambert, chief digital officer at Mastercard, said.
The Mastercard New Payments Index found that 29 percent of respondents globally hold cryptocurrency as an investment, while another 65 percent indicated that they would like crypto-related services to be provided by their current financial institution.
To support this program, Mastercard is expanding its partnership with Paxos Trust Company, a leading regulated blockchain infrastructure platform. Paxos will provide crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks, while Mastercard will use its technology to integrate those capabilities into banks’ interfaces.
“Mastercard has a powerful network of financial institutions around the world. This exciting offering developed by Paxos and Mastercard will give FIs the fastest and most trusted way to offer safe, reliable crypto access for their consumers globally. We’re thrilled to partner with Mastercard to further accelerate the mainstream adoption of digital assets,” Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, said.
Mastercard Crypto Source is currently being prepared for pilot programs. Details on its broader availability will be announced at a later date.