The financial services giant Mastercard (MA) has recently announced its partnership with the cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt (BKKT). The said merger is said to “offer innovative crypto and loyalty solutions” to their users.
Mastercard-Bakkt collaboration
This was revealed during the global fintech event of Money20/20 stating that the two entities agreed to a “multifaceted partnership” making it easier for banks, fintechs, and merchants within the United States to welcome and offer a wide set of services and solutions that are related to cryptocurrency. In turn, consumers will be experiencing what is described as “expanded access to the digital asset ecosystem.”
According to Mastercard’s press release on October 25, Bakkt broadens Mastercard’s crypto partners as such a move enables a so-called “Crypto-as-a-Service.” This is said to give fast access to cryptocurrency capabilities.
Further, through Mastercard’s network paired with Bakkt’s digital asset platform, partners of the former will now have the ability to offer crypto solutions as these include consumers’ ability to hold, purchase, and sell digital assets via custodial wallets powered by the latter.
Loyalty rewards in crypto
Also, Mastercard is said to introduce crypto into their loyalty solutions and enable its partners to offer cryptocurrency as a form of reward and create fungibility between digital assets and loyalty points. This translates to consumers earning and spending rewards in crypto rather than the regular loyalty points, not to mention turning their crypto holdings to pay for purchases seamlessly.
In line with this, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard’s Executive Vice President Sherri Haymond said that Mastercard is committed to offering a broad range of payment solutions that offers more options, impact, and value every day. She went on to say that alongside Bakkt and “grounded by their principled approach to innovation,” they’ll not only empower their partners to offer a vast mix of digital assets choices but also offer “differentiated and relevant consumer experiences.”
As for Bakkt, its market price surged significantly by over 300% at $42.51. At the time of writing, however, the platform’s stocks plunged by 14% as its price sits at $36.23. However, Bakkt’s pre-market is up by 5.44% at $38.20 alongside a day range between $35.50 and $50.80.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.