Mastercard and Paxos are committed to bringing crypto services to banks.
Mastercard, the second-largest payment-processing corporation worldwide, has launched Crypto Source program to bring crypto services to financial institutions (FI).
According to the press release shared on October 17th, apart from allowing banks to offer crypto services, Mastercard will provide banks “with a proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services.”
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More specifically, Mastercard offers “technology and partnership support" enabling banks to offer crypto buying, holding, and selling services. On top of that, Mastercard will provide “security management tools, crypto spends and cash out capabilities, crypto program management tools.”
Mastercard President of Cyber & Intelligence, Ajay Bhalla, when talking about the new program, noted:
At Mastercard, trust is our business. What we are announcing today is a connected approach to services that will help bring users safely and securely into the crypto ecosystem.
To execute its idea, Mastercard is collaborating with blockchain infrastructure company Paxos. The latter-mentioned company will provide “crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks.” On the other hand, Mastercard will work on integrating these capabilities into banks’ interfaces. Most importantly, Mastercard and Paxos will work on creating a seamless customer experience.
Head of Strategy at Paxos, Walter Hessert, while talking about the partnership with Mastercard, highlighted:
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.
In its announcement, Mastercard stated that its 2022 New Payments Index showed that 29% of respondents are holding various cryptocurrencies as investments. Moreover, 69% of respondents wish that crypto-related services would be provided by already trusted financial institutions.
Mastercard Chief Digital Officer, Jorn Lambert, noted that the newest project aims to help financial institutions offer new and more advanced services.
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.
According to its announcement, the program is currently undergoing preparations for its pilot program.
