In a major strengthening of ties between the realms of traditional payments and cryptocurrency, Crypto.com and Mastercard have announced a partnership.
The crypto exchange, which has built up a very visible public presence via sports sponsorships and celebrity endorsements, will launch a Mastercard-powered card in Bahrain. The card will be launched from Bahrain but Crypto.com will make it available in other jurisdictions, and plans to expand it across the Gulf region.
Mastercard’s payments network will underpin the card, which can be used by Crypto.com customers worldwide in 150 million retail and online merchants. Users put funds onto the card via Crypto.com app e-money wallets or by using this-party issued credit and debit cards.
Karl Mohan, General Manager APAC and MEA of Crypto.com, said: “We’re really proud to be partnering with Mastercard, a global technology leader in the payments industry, and utilising our recently issued Payment Service Provider licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain to launch our world-renowned prepaid card to our users in Bahrain and beyond.
“Mastercard has shown its support for the digital assets industry by creating a robust card programme service that’s specifically tailored for our customers, allowing us to expand our product offering into new markets whilst proving our continued commitment to the highest levels of security and compliance.”
Mastercard is one of the payments industry’s biggest stakeholders, being one of the two largest payments processors and card issuers in the world alongside its primary competitor Visa.
Crypto.com’s engagement with the company marks a significant expansion of the relationship between cryptocurrency and traditional payments firms. However, it is far from Crypto.com’s first engagement with more established, fiat-based companies.
The firm has collaborated with the likes of major US bank Standard Chartered, worldwide money transfer platform PayPal, and global payments acceptance service Ignecio. It has also hardly kept its card issuing ambitions a secret.
Early last month, the company laid out its roadmap for 2025, encompassing expansion into cards, banking, stocks and rewards. It already has a system of prepaid cards, spread across five tiers, and intends to expand this worldwide while also introducing a credit card. The Bahirain-issued Mastercard announced this week will be available across all five existing card tiers.
Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard, said: “We are delighted to welcome Crypto.com as a Mastercard Principal Member. The programme provides a wide range of benefits and opportunities beyond the direct issuance of Mastercards.
“Crypto.com will now have access to our global network, enabling transactions wherever Mastercard is accepted, our innovative payment solutions powered by cutting-edge technology, and our comprehensive tools for enhancing transaction security and fraud protection.”
