Mastercard to Support Cryptos on Its Network This Year

Mastercard has announced it is ready to include selected cryptocurrencies on its vast financial network later this year. This multinational financial and credit card giant is the largest such company to decide to accept cryptos so far.

In October 2020, PayPal launched its cryptocurrency service that enabled users to buy, trade, and use virtual currencies. Also, another digital payment provider, Square, has allowed its clients to trade Bitcoin. However, Mastercard will most definitely be Bitcoin’s most mainstream platform yet.

How Will It Work?

As representatives from Mastercard say, their customers are already using Mastercard credit cards to buy cryptos. The most popular is undoubtedly Bitcoin, especially after the latest surge in value. The company says that they follow the trends and are fully prepared for this major business turnaround.

However, the decision doesn’t mean that the company will receive all of today’s cryptos on the network. On the contrary, Mastercard will apply strict requirements for virtual currencies to meet to become members of this exclusive financial club. As a trustworthy company with a long history, Mastercard isn’t ready to jeopardize its reputation and endanger the clients. Hence, the company emphasizes that cryptocurrencies that will be brought into the network need to be stable, secure, and reliable.

These “stablecoins” will have to meet four requirements. Firstly, they must have top-notch consumer protection similar to those used with credit cards. Next, Know Your Customer (KYC) and strict compliance procedures will have to be applied. Furthermore, the currencies will have to comply with local legislation in all the regions they are used. And finally, the customers have the final word. If they want particular crypto to use for payments, this would be a good signal. It means that digital money will need to allow people to use it regularly for everyday spending, not only for investment.

Although Mastercard hasn’t revealed precise information on how the new service will work, they hinted few details. When a client wants to buy something using Bitcoin, Mastercard’s crypto partners will convert the virtual currency into fiat currency and process it through the Mastercard network.

This change will allow many more merchants to accept virtual currencies and remove the complicated procedures that required buyers to convert crypto into traditional money to make a payment.

How Will This Affect Online Casinos?

The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was “born” in 2009. More than a decade later, hundreds of digital currencies are fighting for a piece of their crypto space. After the initial shock when people heard they could make payments with virtual money that doesn’t exist physically, today, cryptocurrencies are going mainstream. Following the trend, we now have many crypto-friendly online casinos, such as BitStarz.

The decision of Mastercard to include cryptos in its vast payment network will most definitely enlarge the number of digital money users, including gamers. It will motivate more casinos to accept Bitcoin and other popular cryptos, which will bring more players to their online gaming venues.

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