Mastercard Plans To Scale Up Crypto Business, To Forge More Partnerships With Firms

Raj Dhamodharan, head of crypto and blockchain at Mastercard, said that there won't be any restrictions on the amount transferred to crypto exchanges.

Mastercard plans to expand its cryptocurrency payment card programme by forging more partnerships with crypto firms, according to the company's head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan. Mastercard already offers crypto-linked payment cards through collaborations with several crypto exchanges, including Binance, Nexo and Gemini. The Binance cards permit users to make payments in traditional currencies using their cryptocurrency holdings on the exchange.

Dhamodharan was quoted by Reuters as saying, "We have dozens of partners around the world who offer crypto card programmes, and they continue to expand. Providing access to crypto in a safe way is also part of our value proposition, and we're continuing to do that."

Although banks have grown wary of crypto clients following the collapse of several large crypto firms last year, Mastercard intends to keep expanding its cryptocurrency payment programme. US regulators are also becoming stricter with non-compliant crypto firms, and Mastercard aims to conduct "full due diligence" before partnering with any crypto firm. Dhamodharan added that Mastercard continuously monitors any partner card programme.

Asked if Mastercard plans to impose restrictions on the amount of money that could be transferred to crypto exchanges using its payments network, Dhamodharan said the company isn't here "to pick winners" and "not here to pick which transaction should happen or shouldn't happen."

While some banks, such as Santander and NatWest, limit the amount of money that UK customers can transfer to crypto exchanges to prevent scams and fraud, Mastercard is keen to embrace blockchain technology, which underlies cryptocurrencies. According to Dhamodharan, the company has invested in crypto analytics technology and believes that more regulated money will come into the crypto space.

"We think more and more regulated money will come to this," he said.

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