Mastercard Launches Self-Managed Crypto Payment Card

Cryptocurrency holders in Europe will now be able to spend their cryptocurrencies almost anywhere, securely from their personal wallets, thanks to a new payment card from Mastercard.

Mercuryo, a fintech platform for web3 businesses, announced on Thursday that it is collaborating with the payments provider to launch “Spend” – a multi-chain crypto card and Mastercard that acts like a debit card.

Spend your cryptocurrencies anywhere

According to the announcement, the payment card enables crypto payments with over 90 million merchants connected to Mastercard’s network and features seamless integrations with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

“Major Web3 wallets will soon offer Spend cards within their interface, allowing users to top up their cryptocurrencies and spend fiat money around the world,” Mercuryo said.

Mastercard has already launched payment cards that allow users to spend their cryptocurrencies at regular merchants, but they typically require partnerships with centralized exchanges to work. This means that the cryptocurrencies held by users were entrusted to centralized institutions, which defeats the purpose for which Bitcoin was originally created.

In contrast, Mercuryo claims its new card offers a “fast, cost-effective, and globally accepted” way to convert cryptocurrencies to fiat currency directly from their own wallets. It is compatible with multiple blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Solana, Injective, Near, ZKSync, Polkadot, and TON.

Users can keep separate balances between their wallet and payment card. The latter can be immediately topped up by selling cryptocurrencies from the personal wallet, which are instantly converted into cash. In contrast, traditional “crisis exit” methods typically take 1-2 business days for a user’s funds to appear in their bank account.

“We are actively working to expand our network and plan to add more portfolio partnerships soon,” Mercuryo said.

Mastercard’s foray into the world of cryptocurrencies

Spend is currently available in the European Economic Area (EEA), but will roll out to regions around the world in the future.

Last month, Ethereum mobile wallet Metamask also launched a debit card with Mastercard, allowing users to use Bitcoin and other assets to buy things at popular stores.

In June, Mastercard also launched “Crypto Credential,” allowing users of select cryptocurrency exchanges in Europe and Latin America to make cross-border transfers using easy-to-remember aliases instead of blockchain addresses.