Global payment leader Mastercard has partnered with European crypto payments provider Mercuryo to expand support for non-custodial wallets.
The collaboration introduces a euro-denominated debit card, enabling users to spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin stored in self-custody wallets at over 100 million merchants worldwide within the Mastercard network, Mercuryo said in an official press release.
Non-custodial wallets allow users to store their cryptocurrency without relying on centralized platforms such as exchanges or banks.
Non-Custody Wallets Offer Users Full Control
In contrast to custodial wallets, where a third party holds the private keys, non-custodial wallets give users full control and responsibility for securing their funds.
Users hold the private key, the essential element that provides access to their digital assets.
This type of storage has become increasingly popular among crypto enthusiasts who prefer to avoid the risks associated with centralized entities.
Over 500M people now own crypto, and we're set to double that! Why are people turning to on-chain?
From high-yield investments to tokenizing art and sending money abroad, crypto offers countless opportunities for financial independence often inaccessible in many countries.… pic.twitter.com/IjNuwsz4jM— Mercuryo (@Mercuryo_io) September 5, 2024
Mastercard’s move to support self-custody reflects a growing trend toward decentralization in finance.
“At Mastercard, we are working closely with partners to innovate and enhance the self-custody wallet experience,” Christian Rau, Mastercard’s Senior Vice President for Crypto and Fintech Enablement, said.
He added that the collaboration with Mercuryo eliminates traditional barriers between blockchain technology and conventional payments.
The partnership aims to offer consumers a seamless, reliable, and secure way to spend digital assets wherever Mastercard is accepted.
Founded in 1966, Mastercard operates as a global payments corporation, offering financial services in over 210 countries.
The company first entered the cryptocurrency space in February 2021 when it announced support for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins on its network.
Since then, Mastercard has forged partnerships with industry players such as USD Coin provider Circle and U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase.
Mastercard’s latest initiative with Mercuryo follows a successful pilot program launched in August, where the firm collaborated with MetaMask, a leading self-custodial crypto wallet, to offer crypto debit cards.
The new venture builds on that progress by addressing the challenges users face when navigating between blockchain assets and traditional payment systems.
The Mastercard-branded Spend card comes with fees set by Mercuryo, including a €1.60 issuance fee, a €1 monthly maintenance fee, and a 0.95% off-ramp fee.
Mastercard Resume Push into Crypto
Back in May, Mastercard joined a consortium of major banks to test distributed ledger technology for settling digital asset transfers between the firms.
Assets on the test network include commercial bank money, US treasuries, central bank money, and investment-grade debt, which are normally traded using separate systems.
More recently, the payment giant announced that its new “Crypto Credential” service has gone live, making peer-to-peer crypto transfers far more intuitive for average users.
The service allows users of select crypto exchanges to send and receive digital assets using a Mastercard Crypto Credential Alias rather than blockchain addresses, which are long and confusing strings of random numbers and letters.
Last year, Mastercard said crypto and blockchain are useful and can bring much more value to financial industries as a whole, but only when they tackle the security and ease of use issues in order to build trust.
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