By
Svetlana Soroka
April 26th, 2024
Mastercard will release a set of franchise rules for wallet providers.
Payments giant Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) is currently looking up ways to partner with top self-custody wallet providers such as MetaMask and Ledger. It disclosed this during a Web3 strategy workshop presentation, CoinDesk reports.
In its presentation, Mastercard mentioned various benefits that wallet providers stand to gain from adopting and using its payment card. These include getting a boost in their number of active users and revenue streams, while also improving overall customer experience. According to Mastercard, its card will offer end users a seamless way to spend their crypto balance.
Despite all the potential benefits, however, Mastercard also admits that there might be some challenges with the intended partnerships. The 57-year-old payments technology firm notes that wallet firms might not be able to cope with the high demands that introducing a card will bring.
Nonetheless, the payments giant says it has a solution as it has already started evaluating “new models for global issuance using stablecoin on-chain settlement” and “inexpensive fast chains”.
As part of MasterCard’s efforts toward transparency and merging Web2 and Web3, it has launched some innovative products and solutions. They include the Mastercard Multi-Token Network, Crypto Credential, CBDC Partner Program, and other new card programs.
Mastercard and Other Payments Firms Remain Fixated on Crypto
It is worth mentioning that the attraction that major payments companies like Mastercard have for crypto has not diminished. That is despite the difficult market conditions and regulatory uncertainty that beclouds the industry.
For context, Mastercard has been keen on crypto since the early-year announcement of its Engage program. Visa too, continues to collaborate with stablecoin USDC and the Solana blockchain for easy cross-border payments while also looking for ways to sort out the issue of paying Ethereum gas fees.
About its proposed partnerships, Mastercard will release a set of franchise rules for wallet providers. This is so it can ensure consumer protection and price competition. Its 2021 acquisition of blockchain analytics firm CipherTrace also means that it will be able to keep track of transactions in real-time.
According to Mastercard, once the proposed rules have been ratified, it would seek to roll out a card in the EU or UK as a first market.