All posts tagged: Mastercard

Visa Partners Stripe-Owned Bridge to Launch Stablecoin Payment Cards: Details

Visa Partners Stripe-Owned Bridge to Launch Stablecoin Payment Cards: Details

Published by Webster

Visa is hopping aboard the stablecoin hype with its latest partnership with Bridge, a Web3 subsidiary of fintech firm Stripe. The US-based payment cards giant said that developers using Bridge to create their apps can now offer stablecoin-linked Visa cards to their end customers across multiple nations as part of this partnership. Bridge is a developer-first payments company that helps creators juggle between currencies to suit their convenience. Stripe acquired Bridge for $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,462 crore) in February this year, making this its most significant acquisition so far. Both the companies announced the development on April 30. They said that the main aim of this deal is to introduce stablecoins as legitimate payment options for day-to-day purchases that can be facilitated through cards, mimicking a familiar, traditional method of making transactions. “We’re focused on integrating stablecoins into Visa’s existing network and products in a frictionless and secure way,” said Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer. Commenting on the partnership with Bridge, Forestell said, “It represents a significant move in helping to …

Mastercard Partners OKX, Nuvei to Launch Payment Ecosystem for Stablecoins

Mastercard Partners OKX, Nuvei to Launch Payment Ecosystem for Stablecoins

Published by Webster

Mastercard has announced a payment ecosystem allowing buyers and merchants to make and receive payments using stablecoins. The US-based card payment giant teamed up with Seychelles-headquartered OKX crypto exchange to launch a new card, while another partnership with Canadian payment processing firm Nuvie will allow businesses to accept stablecoin payments. Stablecoins are crypto assets that derive their values from underlying reserved assets like a fiat currency – which shields them from extreme market volatility and makes them usable for day-to-day payments. Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) are examples of stablecoins, both of which are pegged to the US dollar and maintain their values in a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar. Mastercard says through its new system, stablecoin settlements will be made available at over 150 million merchant locations globally. Mastercard Enables Stablecoin Payments via OKX Card Mastercard said that stablecoins are bringing efficiency and programmability to payments, disbursements, and remittances. It also said that banks and fintech firms are increasingly ramping up their efforts to explore stablecoin-related services. As part of this ecosystem development, …

Mastercard Partners OKX, Nuvei to Launch Payment Ecosystem for Stablecoins

Mastercard, Kraken Team Up to Scale Card-Based Crypto Spending in UK, Europe

Published by Webster

Mastercard is taking a significant step toward broadening the use of crypto assets across Europe and the UK. The global payments leader has partnered with crypto exchange Kraken to facilitate card-based crypto payments for everyday purchases. The collaboration was officially announced in a blog post published by Mastercard on April 8. With its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, the European Union is already one of the most tightly regulated crypto markets globally. Meanwhile, the UK is expected to finalise its own comprehensive crypto legislation by 2026. In the coming weeks, Kraken will be launching both physical and digital debit cards to facilitate payments through crypto. As part of the partnership, UK and Europe-based Kraken users will be allowed to make crypto payments to over 150 million merchants who accept Mastercard. Both, Mastercard and Kraken are attempting to narrow the gap between traditional finance and crypto assets, the announcement claimed. “Our customers want to be able to easily pay for real-world goods and services with their cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Our partnership with Mastercard is a major …

Boat Smartwatches in India Get Tap and Pay Functionality in Collaboration With Mastercard

Published by Webster

Boat smartwatch users will now be able to use tap and pay functionality at eligible point-of-sale (POS) terminals in India, following an announcement made at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024 on Friday (August 30). For this move, the Indian smart wearable brand is partnering with Mastercard, enabling payment services on credit and debit cards from supported banks. This functionality can be accessed via boAt’s official application, secured by Mastercard’s tokenisation capabilities. Tap and Pay on Boat Smartwatches In a press release, Boat announced that its payment-enabled smartwatches can be used to carry out payments via tap and pay method at POS terminals. For transactions up to Rs. 5,000, no PIN will be required. Security will be maintained courtesy of cryptograms which power Mastercard’s device tokenisation capability. Powering payments through wearable devices for Indian consumers, we’re thrilled to collaborate with @RockWithboAt to bring quick, secure tap & pay capabilities to boAt smartwatches. Backed by Mastercard device tokenization, this cost-effective solution will contribute towards the… pic.twitter.com/AYilfQlzKN — Mastercard India (@mastercardindia) August 29, 2024 At launch, Sameer …

Mastercard Onboards Five New Blockchain Startups to Start Path Programme: Details

Published by Webster

US-based card payments giant Mastercard is forging ahead with choosing and onboarding promising blockchain startups to join its Web3-focussed Smart Path programme. In a fresh development, the company has onboarded five new startups to be part of this initiative. In the coming months, Mastercard will work with these up-and-coming firms to explore how blockchain can be used to produce scalable payment solutions that add more impact to the global digital commerce sector. France-based startup Kulipa joined UK-based Parfin and Singapore’s Peaq to be handpicked by Mastercard for the Start Path programme. While Kulipa enables digital wallet-friendly crypto payment cards, Parfin helps enterprises adopt blockchain rails and Peaq provides borderless digital infrastructure for real-world apps leveraging vehicles, machines, robots, and devices. The other two newly added firms to the initiative are Belgium-based Venly, that simplifies blockchain integration for businesses, and the US-based firm Triangle, which triangulates climate data with finance on blockchain, the official release by Mastercard said. Thrilled to announce that Venly has been chosen to participate in @Mastercard‘s 2024 Global Start Path Blockchain and …

Mastercard, 1inch Partner to Launch New Crypto Debit Card: All You Need to Know

Published by Webster

A new crypto debit card has entered the fintech ecosystem, programmed with the crypto-to-fiat bridge functionality. DeFi firm 1inch has collaborated with cards payment giant Mastercard to launch this card. The card has been developed by Baanx, a cryptocurrency payments specialist authorised by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Mastercard believes that crypto-enabled cards make for a significant tool that bridges the gap between fiat and crypto currencies. The US-based company has been taking several pro-crypto steps to establish its name in the Web3 sector for some years now. The debit card by 1inch will allow holders to pay for their purchases through cryptocurrencies for both online and retail purchases. The card will work anywhere Mastercard is accepted. “This is another major step towards onboarding mass users to DeFi,” said Sergej Kunz, 1inch co-founder. “With the 1inch Card, the user can benefit from the advantages of both DeFi and traditional finance.” The card will let its holders convert their capital from fiat to crypto. The holders, however, will need crypto tokens in their 1inch wallet. …

Airtel Payments Bank Smartwatch With NFC for Contactless Payments Launched in India: Price, Specifications

Published by Webster

Airtel Payments Bank smartwatch was launched in India on Tuesday (March 19). This marks the entry of the telecom operator in the smartwatch segment and becomes the first device to be launched by it. The smartwatch has been developed in collaboration with the wearable brand Noise and the payment-technology provider Mastercard. The main offering of the Airtel smartwatch is that it is NFC-enabled and allows users to make contactless ‘Tap and Pay’ payments up to Rs. 25,000 per day. Airtel Payments Bank Smartwatch price, availability The Airtel Payments Bank smartwatch price has been set at Rs. 2,999. It is available in black, blue, and grey colour options. However, the smartwatch can only be purchased by those who are existing members of the Airtel Payments Bank. A bank account can be created digitally but it is required before ordering the wearable device. The Airtel watch is already available on sale and can be bought right away. It can be purchased only through the Airtel Thanks app. It is not available to buy on any other ecommerce …

Mastercard, Swoo Pay Initiate Work to Offer Crypto-Based Loyalty Rewards: Details

Published by Webster

While nations around the world are taking a slow and calculated approach towards engaging with crypto, fintech giants like Mastercard and Visa are already incorporating pro-crypto steps as part of their operations. In a fresh development, Mastercard has initiated work around launching crypto-based loyalty rewards. The payments giant has reportedly decided to work with Swoo Pay, a mobile payments app focussed on emerging markets. The crypto culture, around the world, seems to be picking pace and that could be acting as a nudging factor for fintech giants like Mastercard to explore possibilities for integrating services with Web3. Mastercard and Swoo Pay will work collectively to drive in the culture of crypto-based loyalty rewards in emerging economies – where people despite having access to Mastercard and Visa card, do not have access to Google Pay. Swoo users in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines, and Indonesia get Swoo tokens as rewards when they make payments via the app. These tokens can either be converted into other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and USD Coin or into fiat currencies. As …

Why has RBI put restraints on a certain card network? | Explained News

Published by Parlour News

The regulator said that the card network was allowing businesses to make payments to entities that were not authorised to accept card payments, which was a violation of The Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007. The RBI also raised concerns over non-compliance of Know Your Customer (KYC) norms in such transactions. First, what is a card network? Card networks connect banks, merchants, and customers (card users) to one another so that transactions can be carried out smoothly and securely. Card networks are operating in the background every time a customer uses her card to make a payment. There are five authorised card networks in India: Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, Diners Club, and American Express. While the RBI did not name the card network that it has restrained, it said that so far, only one card network has operationalised the arrangement that enables corporates to make unauthorised card payments via business cards in the country. What was the alleged modus operandi? In a statement, the RBI said that it had “noticed” that a card network had …