The American global financial services company Mastercard Inc has engaged in a strategic agreement with Fintech Stables, an Australian startup, with the goal of accelerating the adoption of stablecoins in the Asia-Pacific area.
Users of the Stables platform will be able to make payments for items and services with their USD Coin (USDC) at any location that accepts Mastercard as a means of payment, according to a report (1).
The partnership was announced on March 20, and it is anticipated that the service will be made available to users during the 2nd quarter of the year.
Stables plans to create a digital wallet that will only handle stablecoin transactions in order to facilitate payment integration.
Users of Stables can now store and spend in USDC thanks to the introduction of this new service; nevertheless, at the Point of Sale (POS), the digital currency will first be converted to fiat money before being used to make the real payment.
According to Kallan Hogan, Head of Fintech for Australasia at Mastercard, this new capability has been described as a new frontier that has the potential to power the adoption of Web 3.0.
In a declaration, Hogan said that
“Mastercard is dedicated to propelling inventive payment services that give cardmembers the liberty to use their assets in which, how, and whenever they want.”
Hogan also said that
“Stables is going to build an alternative for the Web3 industry utilizing Mastercard’s worldwide network and cyber and intellect techniques, including CipherTrace as well as Ekata, with confidence and safety at the core.”
It is not unusual to find traditional financial services companies forming partnerships with up-and-coming providers of Web 3.0 services.
It may be argued that the collaboration between Mastercard and Stables is advantageous for all parties involved because it enables the former to establish a key conduit to advance its drive into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Stables, for its part, stands to benefit from increased brand awareness thanks to the new product, which will capitalize on Mastercard’s preeminent position in the international market.
The USDC payment platform will initially be made available in Australia, but there are plans to extend its reach to include support for additional nations in the not-too-distant future.
Cooperation Between Mastercard and Stables: A Threat to the USDC
Due to the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) that surrounds Circle, USDC, and the vulnerability to the three US banks that failed in the previous week, the collaboration between both organizations to improve USDC payment may attract some forms of mistrust.
Daniel Li, one of the co-founders of Stables and the company’s chief operating officer, stated that there is no need for worry and that the company is optimistic about the future of the USDC. He based his statement on the current perspective.
“Stablecoins will play a crucial role in the future financial system and will be essential to the process of linking the worlds of conventional and decentralized finance.”
As a part of that ecosystem, Stables will carry on its collaboration with USDC and Circle.
Notwithstanding these assurances, customers who want to test out the payment system have the option of topping off their digital payment with fiat currency in addition to alternative modes of payment, such as bank transfers.
With the assistance of Mastercard, Stables hopes to accomplish its objective of providing customers with a method of payment that is more adaptable to their needs and dependable.