Mastercard and Bakkt announced a multifaceted partnership at Money20/20 to enable merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to offer cryptocurrency solutions and services.
Bakkt is a digital currency company that specialises in concurrency, rewards, and loyalty points.
It will now extend Mastercard’s ecosystem of cryptocurrency partners enabling Crypto-as-a-Service, providing quick access to cryptocurrency capabilities.
Through Mastercard’s network and Bakkt’s digital asset platform, the payment giant’s partners will be able to offer cryptocurrency solutions.
These include the ability for consumers to buy, sell and hold digital assets through custodial wallets powered by the Bakkt platform and streamlined issuance of branded crypto debit and credit cards.
Mastercard will also integrate crypto into its loyalty solutions, enabling its partners to offer cryptocurrency as rewards and create fungibility between loyalty points and other digital assets.
Consumers can now earn and spend rewards in cryptocurrency instead of traditional loyalty points and seamlessly convert their crypto holdings to pay for purchases.
Mastercard continues to invest in the digital asset space through several initiatives including the acquisition of CipherTrace, partnerships with leading crypto players, the creation of new platforms to test and support central bank digital currencies, and more.
“Mastercard is committed to offering a wide range of payment solutions that deliver more choice, value and impact every day.
Together with Bakkt and grounded by our principled approach to innovation, we’ll not only empower our partners to offer a dynamic mix of digital assets options, but also deliver differentiated and relevant consumer experiences.”
said Sherri Haymond, Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard.
“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Mastercard to bring crypto loyalty services to millions of consumers.
As brands and merchants look to appeal to younger consumers and their transaction preferences, these new offerings represent a unique opportunity to satisfy increasing demand for crypto, payment and rewards flexibility.”
said Nancy Gordon, EVP, Loyalty Rewards and Payments at Bakkt.
