The payment giant has just announced that it is determined to support the NFT market. Soon, 2.9 billion cardholders will be able to purchase non-exchangeable tokens instantly.
A long way to launch a new service
Mastercard, next to Visa, is the world’s largest provider of payment cards. The company has been working over the past year to launch a new service that will allow its card users to gain the ability to make NFT purchases without having to purchase the cryptocurrencies that were previously necessary to tie up such transactions. Mastercard reports in an official announcement:
“These integrations are designed to make cryptocurrencies more accessible and help the NFT ecosystem continue to grow, innovate and bring in more fans.”
Broad-based collaboration
The past year has seen Mastercard sign a number of interesting contracts. The company has partnered with leading NFT marketplaces such as Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox (SAND), Mintable, Spring, Nifty Gateway and Web3 infrastructure provider MoonPay.
The first pilot projects were launched back in January this year. They involved the Coinbase exchange, through the mediation of which Mastercard credit card users could make their first NFT purchases.
Market research has provided confidence
Recently, Mastercard decided to perform a survey to determine whether card users actually show interest in such services. Thus, 35,000 respondents, from 40 different countries, answered a set of questions, the results of which can be considered quite surprising. As many as 45% of them declared that they have already bought their first NFT, or at least are considering such a purchase. What’s more, as many as 50% of those surveyed showed interest in obtaining an easier route to market and thus a flexible option for making purchases.
Work still in progress
Although the service seems to be ready now, Mastercard declares that it will not be fully launched until the company achieves the highest security standards in its aspect. Ultimately they are to be on a similar level as when making transactions in a store or online.
For the NFT world this is very positive information, which may indicate how its future is shaping up. Market observers are often divided in opinions concerning this segment. It is worth mentioning here that once both Visa and Mastercard were divided regarding the cryptocurrency market. Several years ago, the payment giants were determined to block transactions in this area. Today, seeing how this one is developing, they compete with each other to provide the best possible crypto products for their users.
