MasterCard launches crypto-friendly cards in the Asia Pacific
So far we’ve been talking about merchants accepting crypto through specialized gateways, such as CoinsPaid and BitPay. Another approach to the issue of using crypto in daily life is crypto cards: bank cards linked to the user’s cryptocurrency balance in a wallet or an exchange.
In this scenario, whenever a user initiates a purchase in USD or another fiat currency, the equivalent amount of crypto is converted into fiat to pay the merchant. This allows users to pay with crypto, even if the merchant doesn’t accept it yet.
Crypto.com and Binance Visa cards are already very popular with European users. Now it’s time for the Asia Pacific region – and here MasterCard seems to hold early leadership.
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MasterCard announced that it has partnered up with Bitkub, CoinJar, and Amber Group to offer pre-paid crypto cards to users in the region. These cards can be used anywhere where MasterCard is accepted, i.e. not only in Asia.
Blockchain enthusiasts believe that in a few years, everyone will switch from the ‘outdated’ payment methods like cards and PayPal to crypto. However, the real future of our everyday payments is probably hybrid, with cryptocurrency, pre-paid crypto cards, and legacy options like PayPal used interchangeably, perhaps from a single payment hub on a smartphone. 2022 will reveal a lot about what this future will look like – and just as importantly, which cryptocurrencies will become the payment standard in the coming years.
Source: Bitcoinist
