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This Wednesday, the electronic payments giant “Mastercard” announced that it has issued a license to “Crypto.com”, the popular Hong Kong-based Cryptocurrency exchange, to begin offering its prepaid payment card services in the Mastercard network, within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, starting in “Bahrain” from January 2025.
According to Mastercard’s official blog post, once issued, cardholders will be able to fund their accounts through the Crypto.com app, using wallets, credit cards, and debit cards issued by third parties.
“Crypto.com will now have access to our global network, enabling transactions anywhere Mastercard is accepted, our innovative payment solutions powered by cutting-edge technology, and our comprehensive tools to enhance transaction security and protection.” against fraud. Said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President of EEMEA Market Development at Mastercard.
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Additionally, the new card will be offered in all five Crypto.com card tiers, including its top-tier “Black Obsidian” offering, with rewards of up to 8% on purchases.
Shortly after the announcement, the crypto community quickly responded on social media with many praising the move. However, some confusion arose over whether the new partnership with Mastercard would affect Crypto.com’s current offerings, backed by payments platform Visa.
Given this, an account on the “X” social network, commonly associated with Crypto.com, reported that, in the GCC, where Visa-backed Crypto.com cards are not currently available, Mastercard-backed offerings would “fill that gap.” , which implies that other markets currently served by Visa would not be affected.
Notably, the recent partnership solidifies the progression of Crypto.com’s popular card program globally. This is because the company aims to provide its users with more freedom and options on how to spend their crypto assets in real-world payment scenarios.
“We are very proud to partner with Mastercard, a global technology leader in the payments industry, and to use our newly issued Payment Service Provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain to launch our world-renowned prepaid card to our users in Bahrain and beyond. Said Karl Mohan, General Manager of APAC and MEA at Crypto.com.
Additionally, Mastercard also said the partnership would expand beyond Bahrain in the future and to other GCC territories, which includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It is important to note that the GCC is considered one of the most progressive regions when it comes to cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and Web3 technologies.
“Mastercard has demonstrated its support for the crypto industry by creating a robust card program service that is designed specifically for our customers. “This allows us to expand our product offering into new markets while demonstrating our continued commitment to the highest levels of safety and compliance.” Karl Mohan said.
On the other hand, in early November, Crypto.com presented its roadmap for 2025, covering expansion into cards, banking, stocks and rewards. Additionally, the new initiative will provide Crypto.com customers with access to Mastercard’s global payments network, accepted in more than 200 countries and at more than 150 million in-store and online locations.
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