Mastercard enables banks to offer customers crypto exchanges to drive mass adoption of crypto

Global payments giant Mastercard announced Monday that it will launch the Crypto Source to help financial institutions provide crypto-currency trading services. Mastercard will handle regulatory compliance and security for banks driving mass adoption of crypto-currencies.

Mastercard partners with Paxos to enable banks to offer crypto-currency trading services

According to an Oct. 17 press release, the Crypto Source program will allow Mastercard to act as a bridge between crypto trading platform Paxos and banks to drive mass crypto adoption. The program allows financial institutions to offer crypto trading services to their customers.

The payments giant will handle all the regulatory compliance and security for banks that previously caused financial institutions to shun crypto assets. While some customers have been skeptical of crypto-currencies, others are looking for safe ways to enter the market.

Mastercard’s chief digital officer, Jorn Lambert, said:

“There are a lot of consumers who are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel much more confident if these services were offered by their financial institutions.”

According to the 2022 Mastercard New Payments Index, 29% of respondents hold crypto-currencies and 65% prefer their financial institutions to offer crypto-currency related services. In addition, the Mastercard Crypto Secure add-on will provide additional security and help card issuers meet regulatory compliance.

Previously, PayPal partnered with Paxos to allow U.S. customers to buy, sell or hold crypto-currencies.

Financial institutions drive mass adoption of crypto-currencies

Payments giants Mastercard and Visa have partnered with many crypto-currency companies to offer crypto-currency-related services. In addition, despite having dedicated crypto-currency teams, financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have avoided offering crypto-currencies. Reasons include consumer protection risks, compliance issues and lack of regulatory clarity.

However, financial institutions have been promoting crypto adoption through institutional investors and crypto advisory services. Mastercard has previously filed applications for trademarks related to NFT and metavers. It also offers crypto rewards and NFT purchase capabilities on credit cards.