Stables announced a collaboration with Mastercard to allow users to use stablecoins “where, how, and when they want.”
Stables, an Australian developer of a crypto wallet for stablecoins, is launching a joint project to integrate stablecoins into the Mastercard payment network. Users will be able to pay for purchases and services by instantly converting the digital currency in the cryptocurrency wallet account into fiat. A prepaid card will be issued for this purpose.
The payment solution will be based on Stables’ own settlement mechanism, which processes all payments using USDC and interacts directly with Mastercard to provide settlements. Users will also be able to top up their wallets in USDT and BUSD, but all deposits will be converted to USDC automatically and for free.
Stables will use analytics tools for automated crypto AML compliance, such as CipherTrace and Ekata, to implement the project. This was announced by Kallan Hogan, Head of Business Development at Mastercard. He also clarified that the new payment solution would give users “the freedom to spend their assets where, how, and when they want.”
The cards are scheduled to be launched in Australia in Q2 2023. Marqeta, which will issue Stables’ prepaid cards, will be the project’s partner. In the future, similar cards will be available to users in the EU, the United States, the United Kingdom, and most of Asia Pacific (APAC).
“Australia has historically been at the forefront of consumer adoption for new technologies, and crypto payments are a prime example of the next wave of innovation that’s accelerating in the APAC region,” commented Duncan Currie, Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Marqeta. Recall that Australia recently implemented its first cross-border transaction in stablecoins and launched the next phase of its digital Australian dollar (eAUD) pilot.
