Mastercard on Monday, 17th October 2022, introduced Crypto Source, a new program enabling financial institutions to bring secure crypto trading capabilities and services to their customers.
According to the 2022 Mastercard New Payment Index, 29% of respondents globally hold cryptocurrency as an investment, with another 65% indicating a preference for crypto-related services to be provided by their current trusted financial institution.
Mastercard will gain access to a comprehensive suite of buy, hold and sell services for crypto assets in partnership with regulated and licensed crypto custody providers. The assets will be augmented with proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services.
The Crypto Source is complemented by Mastercard Crypto Secure, that brings additional security to the crypto ecosystem and support card issuers in their compliance with complex regulations.
Mastercard’s suite of crypto-related offerings for banks and fintechs include;
- Technology and partnership support to enable buy, hold and sell of select crypto assets
- Security management including Mastercard’s identity solutions, crypto analytics, transaction monitoring, anti-money laundering, ‘Know Your Business’ and lifecycle stages, cybersecurity, and biometrics
- Crypto spend and cash out capabilities offered through a range of products, including crypto cards, open banking and cross border services. Financial institutions would also be able to offer additional functionality using Mastercard’s technology such as digital receipts and loyalty solutions
- Crypto program management including program design, product development and technology implementation, as well as go-to-market optimization and marketing consultancy services, providing end-to-end support for banks, fintechs and issuers to offer crypto programs at scale
“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. Our recent investments in this space, such as the acquisition of CipherTrace and Ekata, are providing us with a unique set of capabilities to help provide our customers and consumers with the most technically advanced solutions available in the market.”
– Ajay Bhalla, President, Cyber and Intelligence at Mastercard
Moreover, to support the program, Mastercard will be expanding its partnership and work with Paxos Trust Company, which is a leading regulated blockchain infrastructure platform. According to Mastercard, the partnership aims for Paxos to provide crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks, while Mastercard will leverage its technology to integrate those capabilities into banks’ interfaces, resulting in a seamless experience for the consumer.
“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. We’re excited to build on our long-term partnership with Paxos – co-innovating to bring safe and secure technology to financial institutions. Our crypto product innovations will provide choice at scale and continue to bring one-of-a-kind opportunities to financial institutions as they seek to offer new, advanced services to their customers.”
– Jorn Lamber, Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard
“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.”
– Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy, Paxos
For the past few years, Mastercard has worked alongside its customer base and partners to bring new services and capabilities that help make crypto more accessible, safe and secure. The efforts are complemented with the inclusion of new technologies through Finicity, Ekata, RiskRecon and Cipher Trace.