American multinational financial services Mastercard will now allow transactions of select cryptocurrencies on its network. It comes right after Tesla owner Elon Musk announced that it had bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin.
Joining the likes of several other firms, Mastercard in its blog said, "We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network.”
The firm is also planning to launch several other currencies and it claims to be in touch with several banks around the world. Mastercard already offers a customer card that allows transactions using cryptocurrencies. It has also partnered with cryptocurrency firms such as Wirex and BitPay.
"Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment. This change may open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets," Mastercard said in the blog post.
Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products and partnerships, said that the company plans to give prioritisation to consumer protections and compliance in its own plans.
“Our change to supporting digital assets directly will allow many more merchants to accept crypto — an ability that’s currently limited by proprietary methods unique to each digital asset," Dhamodharan said.
