Global payments provider Mastercard rolled out the integration of a stablecoin digital wallet with the Australian stablecoin platform Stables.
Mastercard and Stables on March 20 announced a partnership to enable retail customers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region that allows users to spend their stablecoins anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
The partnership involves a wallet for stablecoin built by Stables that comes with Mastercard-backed payment cards. The payment card allows users to save and spend USDC by converting the digital currency into fiat and paying on Mastercard’s network. The card will be accessible through the Stables digital wallet app.
According to Mastercard’s head of fintech in Australia, Kallan Hogan, the company’s partnership with Stables is an important development in terms of Web3 adoption.
“Mastercard is committed to powering innovative payment solutions that give cardholders the freedom to spend their assets where, how, and when they want,” Hogan said, adding:
“Stables is building a solution for the Web3 sector leveraging Mastercard’s global network and cyber and intelligence tools, including CipherTrace and Ekata, with trust and security at the core.”
Stables co-founder and CEO Daniel Li said that the Mastercard-enabled wallet integration will be available to use in Q2 2023.
The new stablecoin payment service will initially be available to users in Australia and later to be penetrated into Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and most of Asia Pacific.
Li said the payment solution of Stables will process all USDC payments and works directly with Mastercard to enable payments. At the same time, the wallet will accept deposits in a number of stablecoins, including Tether (USDT) and Binance USD (BUSD). All deposits will be automatically converted to USDC without a fee.
In addition to stablecoins, users can also top up their balances by bank transfer, direct debit, and other payment methods, Li said. At launch, Stables supports deposits and withdrawals in Australian dollars, and will soon integrate US dollars, euros, British pounds, as well as currencies in APAC, Latin America, and Africa.