Mastercard plans to introduce a service that will let financial institutions offer to currency by acting as a bridge to the Paxos trading platform already used by PayPal. Mastercard will handle security and compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Mastercard is launching a program to let financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading to their customers.
- The payment giant will serve as a bridge between banks and Paxos, a crypto trading platform.
- The move could expand the adoption of crypto among the general population.
The news comes a week after rival Visa announced a “long-term global partnership” with the FTX exchange and expanded its crypto debit cards to Asia, South America, and Europe.
Many investors have steered clear of cryptocurrencies because of security and compliance issues. as well as a spate of crypto hacks this year that include a recent breach of a Binance cryptocurrency bridge. Data show that investors would trust crypto more if their own banks offered trading.
Almost two-thirds of respondents to a recent poll said they’re prefer to “test the waters through their existing banks,” according to Mastercard’s chief digital officer.
Mastercard has taken another big step towards cryptocurrency with its Crypto Source program by offering trading in the asset class through Paxos. The tie-up with Mastercard could bring fresh investment to the sector.