CNBC

Mastercard said it was planning to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year, joining a string of big-ticket firms that have pledged similar support.

The credit-card giant’s announcement comes days after Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment.

Asset manager BlackRock and payments companies Square and PayPal have also recently backed cryptocurrencies.

Mastercard already offers customers cards that allow people to transact using their cryptocurrencies, although without going through its network.

“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.

Source

Looking for information about how COVID-19 has impacted the payments industry?

TSG has released a variety of COVID-19 content to highlight the impact to the payments industry. Click here for a collection of resources from articles to infographics containing shareable insights.
The post Mastercard to open up network to select cryptocurrencies appeared first on The Strawhecker Group.