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Mastercard’s Wild Crypto Move: Stablecoins for Everyone (Except Your Grandma)

BBG News

Confession time: Mastercard woke up one morning, looked at its lineup of seriously-not-cool payment tech, and said, “Right, get me some stablecoins!” Now they’re letting merchants all over the globe settle up using fancy digital dollars (no, not Monopoly money — we’re talking about stablecoins like USDC, which are as stable as your mum’s favorite sofa and almost as exciting).

Merchants, You Get a Stablecoin! And You Get a Stablecoin!

So here’s the new party trick: Mastercard’s paired up with Nuvei (try saying that sober), Circle, and Paxos. No matter how a customer pays — card, crypto, possibly interpretive dance — merchants can tell Mastercard, “I’ll take my cash in stablecoins, thanks.” Flexible settlements because apparently, we’re all just too cutting-edge for regular bank transfers. 🎩✨

Apparently businesses and banks are getting quite frisky about hopping on the digital-asset train — mostly because cross-border fees are the worst, and crypto makes it feel like magic… with fewer pigeons.

Phil Fayer, Nuvei’s CEO, straight up flexed:

“By partnering with Mastercard and Circle, we’re embracing cutting-edge technologies to enhance how our merchants handle payments and settlements.”

Translation: we’re living in the future. Please clap.

Mastercard’s Attempt to Make Crypto Boringly Mainstream

But wait, there’s more! Mastercard basically wants crypto in your sandwich, on your phone, and possibly in your bathwater. They’ve done a round with MetaMask, Kraken, Binance, Crypto.com, and anyone else who’ll take their call. This means if you own a crypto wallet and look at a Mastercard sideways, you can probably spend your digital coins anywhere — even on that weird garden gnome at the hardware store. 🧙‍♂️

And to show they’re still flirting with Web3, they’ve launched the OKX Card, with OKX. It’s like “Web3 but make it fashionable.”

OKX’s Haider Rafique raves:

“Our partnership with Mastercard to launch the OKX Card reflects our commitment to making digital finance more accessible, practical, and relevant to everyday life.”

You know it’s serious when someone uses ‘practical’ in a sentence about crypto. Honestly, same, Haider.

Secure, Slick, and So, So Verified… Maybe

Not to leave you wallowing in trust issues, Mastercard’s also pushing their snazzy Crypto Credential system. It lets you ping magic internet money to your mates using, get this, verified usernames. Because nothing says “pop star lifestyle” like sending stablecoins to @DogDad92 without accidentally funding a UFO.

Crypto exchanges like Wirex, Bit2Me, and Mercado Bitcoin have already joined this bandwagon. Peer pressure? Maybe. Smooth user experience? Allegedly.

Jorn Lambert, Master of Products (might not be his real title), insists:

“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits for mainstream use cases are clear. To realize its potential, we need to make it as easy for merchants to receive stablecoin payments and for consumers to use them.”

Translation: “If my mum can’t use it, we’re not finished yet.”

And let’s not forget the Multi-Token Network (MTN) — Mastercard’s latest “it’s not just a blockchain, it’s a lifestyle” flex. JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, and other finance heavyweights are in, hoping to make your digital piggy bank talk to your real one… in real-time. Because waiting two days for a transfer is so 2019. 💸🚀

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2025-04-29 19:14

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