A euro-denominated crypto debit card from Mastercard and Mercuryo allows users spend crypto from self-custodial wallets at over 100 million businesses.
Mastercard is collaborating with non-custodial bitcoin wallets to help consumers spend self-custody crypto.
Mastercard will join with Mercuryo, a European crypto payments infrastructure company, to bridge conventional banking and crypto after launching a crypto debit card with MetaMask in August.
Mastercard launched a new euro-denominated debit card that enables customers spend self-custodial cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin at over 100 million retailers in the cooperation.
A key notion of cryptocurrencies is self-custody, which allows assets to be stored without a bank or exchange.
Self-custodial wallets require the user to be the only custodian of the private key to access the wallet and secure their cash.
Christian Rau, senior vice president of Mastercard's crypto and fintech enablement, says Mercuryo's partnership strengthens the company's support for self-custodial wallets.
“At Mastercard, we are working closely with partners to innovate and enhance the self-custody wallet experience,” Rau told Cointelegraph.
Through our work with Mercuryo, we're removing the boundaries between blockchain and conventional payments, giving customers who wish to spend their digital assets a simple, dependable, and secure option to do so anyplace Mastercard is accepted.”
Mastercard is a U.S.-based multinational payment card company founded in 1966. Financial services are offered in over 210 nations and territories.
Mastercard's entry into crypto was obvious given its focus on payments. The payment giant added crypto compatibility to its network in February 2021, citing the rising significance of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Since joining crypto more than three years ago, Mastercard has partnered with Circle, Coinbase, and others.
In a post, Mastercard's blockchain and digital asset head Raj Dhamodharan said the company's self-custody feature would simplify crypto trading on centralized exchanges. Many crypto hodlers “try to avoid” exchanges, he says.
“The complexities of this process have been an obstacle for both buyers and sellers as it limits both choice and the purchasing power of stored crypto,” Dhamodharan said in August 2024.
Mercuryo charges the 1.6 euro ($1.8) issuance cost, 1 euro ($1.1) monthly maintenance fee, and 0.95% off-ramp fee for the new Mastercard-branded Spend card.
