- Mastercard is teaming up with Polygon and Mercuryo to expand its Crypto Credential system to self-custody wallets.
- The company is strengthening its presence in the crypto industry by collaborating with Ripple, Chainlink, Revolut, and other blockchain platforms.
Mastercard, a renowned American financial services corporation, has announced a strategic partnership with the Polygon blockchain. This collaboration will enable Mastercard customers and merchants to make crypto payments seamlessly.
Mastercard Utilizing Polygon for Crypto Transactions
According to a recent announcement, Mastercard has selected the Polygon blockchain to introduce username-based transfers for self-custody wallets. This integration is supported by Mercuryo, a global payment infrastructure platform bridging Web2 and Web3 finance.
The main objective of this partnership is to expand Mastercard’s Crypto Credential system to self-custody wallets. The company aims to establish blockchain-based infrastructures that facilitate crypto transactions for consumers, merchants, and financial institutions.
This initiative introduces verified, username-based transfers that simplify complex blockchain wallet addresses into human-readable aliases. Users can now send crypto using usernames, similar to popular payment apps like Venmo and PayPal.
Mastercard provides a verification framework and Crypto Credential standard to enhance trust in blockchain transactions. With the Mastercard Crypto Credential, users can onboard once, receive a verified username, link their wallet, and access assets instantly without needing to copy long wallet addresses.
Polygon was chosen as the first blockchain network to support payments due to its low-cost infrastructure designed for speed, reliability, and scalability. Meanwhile, Mercuryo will onboard verified users and issue credentials, with Polygon providing the necessary blockchain support.
Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard, emphasized the importance of the initiative in building trust and streamlining digital token transfers.
Mastercard’s Expansion into the Crypto Space
Aside from the Polygon collaboration, Mastercard has been actively expanding its presence in the crypto sector. In a recent development, the company partnered with Ripple Labs and Gemini to pilot a new method of settling credit card transactions using the RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger.
In another move, Mastercard integrated with Chainlink through Swapper Finance to provide cardholders with direct access to DeFi deposits. On the other hand, Polygon has also been forming key partnerships, including collaborations with Calastone and Revolut to enhance tokenised fund transactions and enable instant stablecoin transfers.