Mastercard Debuts New Partnership To Help Banks Offer Crypto Credit Card Rewards

Mastercard Debuts New Partnership To Help Banks Offer Crypto Credit Card Rewards

Share to Linkedin Credit card giant Mastercard announced a partnership Monday morning that will enable its network of partners—including banks and merchants—to offer cryptocurrency credit card rewards and products, expanding access to digital assets as ongoing institutional adoption helps lift the crypto market to meteoric new highs. Shares of the digital wallet company tapped for the move skyrocketed more than 80% after the ... [+] announcement. In a Monday statement, Mastercard said it has tapped Georgia-based digital wallet company Bakkt to begin offering cryptocurrency products and services to its partners in the United States. As a result of the partnership, companies will be able to offer cryptocurrency as rewards for transactions, in lieu of traditional loyalty points, and customers will be able to spend their crypto holdings to pay for purchases, Mastercard said. Banks will also be able to issue cryptocurrency debit and credit cards, similar to the crypto-linked cards already offered by Visa. Though Mastercard stock ticked up just 0. 4% following the announcement, shares of Bakkt, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last week, skyrocketed more than 86% Monday morning, lifting the three-year-old company's market capitalization to about $850 million. Mastercard's new crypto offerings add to