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Mastercard to Settle Transactions for Stablecoin Wallet in APAC

Retail customers in the APAC region would be able to use their stablecoins anywhere Mastercard is accepted thanks to a partnership Mastercard has engaged into.

With the Australian stablecoin platform Stables, the global payment provider Mastercard is introducing a stablecoin digital wallet connection.

In order to enable retail consumers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) area to use their stablecoins anywhere Mastercard is accepted, Mastercard and Stables announced a partnership on March 20.

The partnership entails a Stables wallet with a Mastercard-accepting payment card that is exclusive to stablecoins. By turning the digital money into fiat and settling on the Mastercard network, the payment card enables users to store and spend the USD Coin $1.00 stablecoin. The card will be available through mobile wallets on the Stables digital application.

The partnership between the company and Stables, according to Kallan Hogan, head of fintech at Mastercard Australasia, is a big breakthrough for Web3 adoption.

In addition, Stables is developing a solution for the Web3 sector using Mastercard’s global network and cyber and intelligence tools, including CipherTrace and Ekata, with trust and security at its core. “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.

According to Daniel Li, co-founder and CEO of Stables, the Mastercard wallet integration will be made available to consumers in the second quarter of 2023. The stablecoin digital Mastercard will first be made available to consumers in Australia before expanding to much of Asia Pacific, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

According to Li, the payment solution uses Stables’ in-house settlement engine, which processes all transactions using USDC and collaborates with Mastercard directly to enable settlement. The wallet will also accept deposits in a variety of stablecoins, such as the competing stablecoins Tether $1 and Binance USD $1, but all deposits will be instantly converted into USDC at no extra cost.

Li claims that despite the current problems stemming from the failure of Silvergate Bank, Stables is optimistic about the future of USDC. According to the CEO, “Stablecoins will be essential to bridge the traditional and decentralized finance worlds and will play a vital role in the new financial system. As an essential component of that ecosystem, Stables will continue to collaborate with USDC and Circle.

Users can top off their accounts via bank transfers, direct debit, and other payment methods in addition to cryptocurrencies, Li said. In addition to the Australian currency, Stables will soon offer deposits and withdrawals in the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, as well as currencies from the APAC, Latin America, and Africa.

 

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