PURCHASE, N.Y.—Major payment companies have long looked on at cryptocurrencies as too risky to touch, but now they may be too tempting to ignore.
Mastercard's latest move signals the card brands are ready to make a firm pitch for crypto spending, according to Payments Source.
“Mastercard made its first significant move into cryptocurrency products in July, announcing Wirex as the first crypto provider to roll out a product through Mastercard Accelerate, which Mastercard has primed as a turnkey launching pad for other cryptocurrency providers,” Payments Source said.
Wirex will launch a Mastercard-branded cryptocurrency card enabling users to buy, hold and exchange traditional funds and cryptocurrencies, with up to 1.5% rewards back in bitcoin for in-store purchases. Mastercard said it’s in discussions with other crypto exchanges for product launches, Payments Source said.