By Alicia Maher
MasterCard has been in the news recently for good reasons. It continues to make inroads into the cryptocurrency space. Its latest move is a collaboration with an Aussie crypto exchange, CoinJar.
Aussies Can Make Crypto Transactions Wherever Mastercard Is Acceptable
With this partnership, MasterCard users in Australia can make crypto transactions using fiat currency. In a blog announcement, CoinJar revealed that users could use its new card to perform crypto transactions anywhere they can use MasterCard.
The new CoinJar card comes in digital and physical formats, and it’s already integrated with Apple- and Google-pay. Per the release, 31 digital currencies are supported by the card, including popular ones like XRP, BTC, ETH, and USDT.
Part of the announcement states that CoinJar will determine the exchange rate for converting Australian dollars to the value of the digital asset. Also, users aren’t paying any recurring fees, but the 1% transaction fee is super low. They are even eligible for an in-house rewards program.
In response to the development, Asher Tan, CoinJar CEO, stated that its users can now access crypto features every day through their cards. This CoinJar-MasterCard collaboration seemed like a way to re-enter the Aussie market since the crypto exchange had to switch base from Australia to the United Kingdom seven years ago to evade Australia’s crypto taxation policies. Keep in mind that CoinJar’s local app is the only place to purchase the CoinJar card.
MasterCard Keeps Exposing Its Users To Virtual Currencies
You’d recall that MasterCard has been collaborating with various crypto-related businesses to simplify crypto-fiat transactions for its users and allow them to make crypto transactions easily. Some of these businesses include metropolitan commercial Bank, Paxos, Circle, Uphold, and BitPay. In a bid to help its users avoid the prevalent volatility in the virtual asset world, MasterCard is using the USD coin (USDC) as a base cryptocurrency.
Four months ago, MasterCard, in collaboration with Gemini (a crypto-related firm), introduced a Bitcoin credit card reward initiative for its users. Late last month, MasterCard also publicly launched its Start Path initiative for startups in the cryptocurrency space to enhance innovations.
Other Credit Cards Are Issuing Crypto Cards
As more crypto firms continue to collaborate with credit card companies such as visa card and MasterCard, there will be growing popularity in the issuance of crypto cards. As of the launch date, seven crypto firms had already joined this initiative. The initiative embraces all crypto companies regardless of their niche in the virtual asset space.
Visa Card is also toeing the line of MasterCard. It recently launched a Bitcoin debit card for Australians but which can also be used for other cryptocurrency transactions. Also, late last year, it partnered with an Israeli-based crypto firm, simplex, to expose its user base of over 65 million cardholders to virtual assets. However, as more companies will start offering crypto cards with several enticing benefits, consumers need to ensure they perform due diligence and understand the terms and conditions before applying for a crypto card.