MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet for users who prefer to manage their assets themselves, is launching a debit card that converts crypto to fiat at the point of sale through partnerships with Mastercard and crypto payments company Baanx.
Lorenzo Santos, Senior Product Manager at Consensys, explained the process in a statement to Cointelegraph. First, users must store their crypto on the Linea network. When the MetaMask debit card is swiped, an on-chain transaction is created, transferring tokens from the customer’s wallet to the “Crypto Life” smart contract.
Once the merchant authorizes the transaction, the smart contract performs the fiat-to-crypto conversion, finalizing the payment over Mastercard’s payment network. Customers will be able to select the type of crypto they want to use for each transaction.
Expanding Reach
The MetaMask card is not the first crypto debit card, but other options have been launched by custodial platforms like Coinbase and Crypto.com. With the MetaMask card, users retain control of their private keys until the time of purchase.
The company will initially launch the new card for a select group of users in a pilot program in the UK and Europe, with plans to expand the product’s reach soon.
According to Cointelegraph, one of the objectives of the project is to foster financial inclusion. The new debit card gives unbanked and lower-income consumers another way to make everyday purchases.
Center of Commerce
Some of the largest financial institutions in the world have made substantial investments in products built on decentralized finance concepts like tokenization and blockchain. Mastercard has been a key player in many of them, including a previous collaboration with Baanx and a global crypto cross-border payments system in Latin America and Europe.
“Mastercard’s position at the center of commerce affords us a unique vantage point to identify real-world challenges and opportunities to solve for them,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard in a prepared statement. “We saw a significant opportunity to make purchases for self-custody wallet users easier, more secure, and interoperable.”