In an exciting turn of events Mastercard, one of the largest payment card providers entered into a partnership with the trio of Amber, Bitkub, and CoinJar to instil a new era of digital payments powered by Mastercard payment cards. 

Amber, Bitkub, and CoinJar are a few of the most influential and leading cryptocurrency service providers in the Asia Pacific and to have a significant customer base that Mastercard plans to target. Pertaining to this partnership, Mastercard’s consumers will be able to apply for crypto-linked Mastercard credit, debit, and prepaid cards that can instantly convert cryptocurrencies to traditional fiat currencies usable throughout the world. 

“Cryptocurrencies are many things to people—an investment, a disruptive technology, or a unique financial tool. As interest and attention surges from all quarters, their real-world applications are now emerging beyond the speculative,” said Rama Sridhar, Executive Vice President, Digital & Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “In collaboration with these partners that adhere to the same core principles that Mastercard does – that any digital currency must offer stability, regulatory compliance and consumer protection – Mastercard is expanding what’s possible with cryptocurrencies to give people even greater choice and flexibility in how they pay.”

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Mastercard at a strategically advantageous position

The announcement from Mastercard came at a strategically advantageous position as the interest in cryptocurrency reached an all-time high across the Asia Pacific region. According to the latest Payments Index by the company, 45% of surveyed people are likely to consider using cryptocurrency over the next year which is a jump of 12% from the last year. 

Amber Group, Bitkub, and CoinJar are the first APAC-based crypto platforms to join Mastercard’s Crypto Card Program, designed to make it easier for crypto firms to bring compliant and secure payment cards to the market. Also, as a part of the program, Mastercard will support participating fintech companies to reduce barriers to entry and streamline the onboarding process while offering dedicated access for growth and execution. 

Quotes from Partners

Amber Group

“Amber Group is committed to serving clients with best-in-class technology and innovative product offerings. By joining forces with Mastercard, we will leverage our combined technology, solutions, and expertise to offer users in applicable jurisdictions a more streamlined digital finance experience,” said Michael Wu, Founder, and CEO of Amber Group.

Bitkub

“Thailand is one of the most crypto-oriented markets in Asia Pacific, and so turning that broad asset ownership into something which is usable in an everyday context is a major step forward for Bitkub and our customers,” said Jirayut Srupsrisopa, Founder and Group CEO of Bitkub.

“To make this happen, we are very pleased to be connected to Mastercard via our valued payments partner 2C2P to create a sophisticated card solution that allows crypto users to make payments by converting cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency. I believe that our strong partnership will accelerate consumers’ use of crypto as a means of commerce, making payments more efficient and facilitating new economic activity for businesses worldwide.” 

CoinJar

“As one of the world’s longest-running crypto exchanges, we’re thrilled to partner with a global giant like Mastercard to make cryptocurrency more accessible and useful than it’s ever been before,” said Asher Tan, CEO of CoinJar.

This partnership by Mastercard will promote the use of cryptocurrencies by making it more reliable and accessible for the users. It’s exciting to see such large scale corporations showing their interests in the crypto ecosystem.