Mastercard Expands Cryptocurrency Payment Use Cases

Crypto exchange Crypto.com and Mastercard joined forces to scale the digital payments industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Crypto.com received a license from Mastercard, allowing it to act as the direct issuer of cryptocurrency cards. Bahrain will be the first country where Crypto.com’s crypto card will be launched, with the release scheduled for January 2025. Over time, the cryptocurrency cards will also be rolled out in other GCC countries.

Globally, the partnership aims to expand the use cases of cryptocurrency as a payment method. The new product will allow Crypto.com users to make payments at over 150 million stores and online platforms worldwide using cryptocurrency.

Users will be able to top up their crypto cards through the Crypto.com app, using digital assets, fiat funds, cryptocurrency wallets, and third-party-issued credit and debit cards. The innovative payment product will be denominated in U.S. dollars and offer up to 8% cashback.

The relevance of crypto cards is growing as the overall number of cryptocurrency users increases . As noted by Max Krupyshev, CEO of CryptoProcessing.com , in the Purpose Driven FinTech podcast, various studies showed that about a third of users across different markets consider digital assets a payment method.

In the past three months, MANSA and Bitmama launched a crypto card for cross-border payments in Africa, Mercuryo and Mastercard introduced a debit crypto card for EU users, and FV Bank, in partnership with Visa, launched debit and corporate crypto cards.