Mastercard will let partnered banks offer crypto-based debit cards and loyalty rewards

[Polycount]

What just happened? It's not just Bitcoin miners and well-known figures like Elon Musk that are embracing cryptocurrencies: entire countries and global financial institutions have followed suit. Mastercard announced today that it has partnered with digital wallet app Bakkt to make "innovative" crypto-based financial services available to banks and fintech companies around the world.

If we convert the marketing speak into plain English, this means that, through this partnership, banks could allow customers to use their platform to buy, hold, and trade various cryptos. Customers could also access bank-branded crypto debit and credit cards to spend their currencies.

All of this would be powered by Bakkt's under-the-hood wallet technology, though it's unclear how tightly integrated it will be from a UI/UX perspective. Will banks instruct users to download Bakkt's app, or will the tech essentially be white-labeled with their own branding and custom features? It's hard to say right now.

At any rate, beyond crypto trading and crypto cards, Mastercard's latest partnership also enables the use of crypto loyalty solutions for financial institutions. Put simply, loyalty points could be earned and spent in the form of cryptocurrency rather than the traditional, cash-oriented systems we see in most banks.

Whether that means end-users would get cryptocurrency directly in their wallets, or simply be able to spend points at locations that accept cryptocurrency (perhaps exclusively), again, we can't say just yet.

Though this news won't be beneficial to everybody, especially those that don't use Mastercard, it's yet another example of how the world is increasingly moving toward the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency. It's clear that cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and perhaps even Dogecoin (as ridiculous as that notion is), are here to stay, and will only become more popular as time goes on despite regulatory attempts to shut them down from countries like China.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91925-mastercard-partnered-banks-offer-crypto-based-debit-cards.html

 

[Squid Surprise]

I await the regular posters stating that crypto is worthless and that it will vanish soon... not gonna happen folks - crypto is here to stay!

 

[scavengerspc]

I await the regular posters stating that crypto is worthless and that it will vanish soon... not gonna happen folks - crypto is here to stay!

Still I can't help but wonder about its future as it continues to challenge current convention.

On the other hand I think about all the Science Fiction books and movies over the years where its citizens simply spent "credits" that appeared on their cards or device. Maybe crypto will be the future credits.

 

[Dimitriid]

I wonder how many people will lose all their savings when the "dump" part of the "pump & dump" gets a turn and everyone, including apparently Mastercard backed institutions, cash out and get rich and you all just become destitute.

 

[0dium]

Still I can't help but wonder about its future as it continues to challenge current convention.

On the other hand I think about all the Science Fiction books and movies over the years where its citizens simply spent "credits" that appeared on their cards or device. Maybe crypto will be the future credits.

So dollar is any different? The same "credit"

 

[scavengerspc]

So dollar is any different? The same "credit"

Hell I don't know, ask them. I would guess the implication is that they are not the same, since they don't call them dollars.

 

[Kosmoz]

So many conflicting trends and views and signals concerning crypto....

It's almost like half the world (companies, governments, etc) are PRO and half AGAINST it.

So what gives? One bank says YES, one country says NO... Such crazy times.

 

[pcnthuziast]

One world government and one global currency are inevitable.

 

[captaincranky]

It's not just Bitcoin miners and well-known figures like Elon Musk that are embracing cryptocurrencies: entire countries and global financial institutions have followed suit.

Oh, has Musk changed his mind, (again), about not selling Teslas for bitcoin?

 

[captaincranky]

One world government and one global currency are inevitable.

Who will be the actual country at the head of it, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, (they have proved indomitable), Israel, (They have a sh!tload of money), or last but possible least, the good old USA?

Forget about Great Britain, they were out of the running at least a hundred years ago.

I say it will be the country with the stupidest people, who follow instructions the best. (Which does sadly place the US at the bottom of the list). We have more than enough of the required stupidity, it just that following instructions is a real sticking point.

 

[captaincranky]

One world government and one global currency are inevitable.

Ohhhhhh sh!t, I hope it's not the Taliban..

 

[yeeeeman]

The plot is thickening.

 

[Geralt]

I await the regular posters stating that crypto is worthless and that it will vanish soon... not gonna happen folks - crypto is here to stay!

To stay with other people, not with me. I don't trust it.

 

[Squid Surprise]

To stay with other people, not with me. I don't trust it.

I'll paraphrase for you... "Get off my lawn!" is what I believe you meant to say

 

[wiyosaya]

I'll paraphrase for you... "Get off my lawn!" is what I believe you meant to say

I think if you look at the variability in the "worth" of the dollar compared to the variability in the "worth" of crapto, the dollar, over time, would show far more stability than crapto ever has.

People seek stability, and if you think the housing crisis was bad, just think of what will happen when people lose their life's savings (after having converted those savings to crapto) just because Musky developed a severe case of flatulence.

 

[wiyosaya]

Ohhhhhh sh!t, I hope it's not the Taliban..

Or the "GQP" aka the US branch of the Taliban.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I think if you look at the variability in the "worth" of the dollar compared to the variability in the "worth" of crapto, the dollar, over time, would show far more stability than crapto ever has.

People seek stability, and if you think the housing crisis was bad, just think of what will happen when people lose their life's savings (after having converted those savings to crapto) just because Musky developed a severe case of flatulence.

Every system is unstable when it begins... long term, there's no reason to believe crypto will be any less or more stable than any national currency.

 

[wiyosaya]

One world government and one global currency are inevitable.

I agree. I think, in fact, that it has to become that way. However, the biggest obstacle to that is how to see that we, as humans, are more alike and work better together than when we are divided - without the world coming to another world war and that government being forced on the losers.

 

[wiyosaya]

Every system is unstable when it begins... long term, there's no reason to believe crypto will be any less or more stable than any national currency.

In the meantime, it will be those who can least afford it, having placed all their hopes into it, that will pay the price.

EDIT - let me ask you this. Can you afford to lose your life savings??

 

[wiyosaya]

So many conflicting trends and views and signals concerning crypto....

It's almost like half the world (companies, governments, etc) are PRO and half AGAINST it.

So what gives? One bank says YES, one country says NO... Such crazy times.

This pretty much speaks to virtually everything these days.

 

[Squid Surprise]

In the meantime, it will be those who can least afford it, having placed all their hopes into it, that will pay the price.

EDIT - let me ask you this. Can you afford to lose your life savings??

I'm not arguing that there will be stupid people who get fleeced... there are plenty who get fleeced in US currency as well...

And no, I can't afford to lose my life savings - which is why I diversify my portfolio... you should never have all your eggs in one basket - no matter how nice the basket looks

 

[wiyosaya]

I await the regular posters stating that crypto is worthless and that it will vanish soon... not gonna happen folks - crypto is here to stay!

I have a Mastercard, and I will not convert.

 

[wiyosaya]

I'm not arguing that there will be stupid people who get fleeced...

But that IS the entire problem. Until the world is rid of the greedy and the thieves who are willing to do anything, including fleecing stupid people, whatever economic system comes along, inequities, and all the problems that come with those inequities, will remain.

 

[Squid Surprise]

But that IS the entire problem. Until the world is rid of the greedy and the thieves who are willing to do anything, including fleecing stupid people, whatever economic system comes along, inequities, and all the problems that come with those inequities, will remain.

I agree with you there... alas, no currency will ever cure "stupid"...

 

[QuantumPhysics]

More attempts to separate fools from their money.