Stellar joins the Mastercard Crypto Credential ecosystem to unlock verified interactions across public blockchain networks

Coins.ph, Mercado Bitcoin and Wirex will use Mastercard Crypto Credential on Stellar

San Francisco, 15 October 2024 – At Meridian 2024 in London, U.K., the Stellar Development Foundation announced a new partnership with Mastercard to integrate the company’s Crypto Credential solution with the Stellar network.

Mastercard Crypto Credential, which helps verify interactions among consumers and businesses using blockchain networks, will be embedded in the Stellar ecosystem as the exclusive credentialing solution to enable a range of secure, compliant use cases for crypto wallet providers including Coins.ph, Mercado Bitcoin, and Wirex.

Today, the user experience of cryptocurrency transfers is still complex, which can create a barrier to adoption. With Mastercard Crypto Credential, crypto remittances can be simply initiated using the recipient’s email address. Behind the scenes, Mastercard Crypto Credential ensures the destination is valid, that it can accept the selected digital asset, and complies with regulatory requirements.

Mastercard Crypto Credential confirms interactions among consumers and businesses, providing some peace-of-mind that a user has met a set of verification standards. The solution also brings more trust and certainty to the process through the exchange of metadata and supports transferring the information needed for cross-border transactions.

Stellar and Mastercard work will initially focus on enabling credentialing for remittances and peer-to-peer transfers – pairing the user-friendly experience of Mastercard Crypto Credential with the Stellar network’s fast settlement times and low fee structure. As an extension of the partnership, Mastercard and Stellar will explore how Mastercard’s wide range of services can be leveraged on the Stellar network, opening doors for additional new and innovative applications of blockchain technology.

This collaboration marks a significant step forward in making cryptocurrency transactions more user-friendly and secure. The Stellar network has a large network of on-and-off-ramps that enable cash-to-crypto transactions around the globe and an ecosystem of trusted financial institutions with a variety of regulated, tokenized real-world assets.

This integration demonstrates the power of partnership to develop the future of blockchain technology. By simplifying transactions and enhancing security, the integration of Mastercard Crypto Credential into the Stellar network is helping to make blockchain technology more accessible and appealing to a broader audience, with the goal of fostering wider adoption and mainstream use.

Quote Sheet

“The Stellar network was designed to be fast, affordable and to demonstrate blockchain technology’s ability to solve real problems for people,” said Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation. “Collaborating with Mastercard to integrate Mastercard Crypto Credential into the Stellar ecosystem will make transferring funds safer and faster, enabling a wide range of use cases and further driving adoption of blockchain technology.”

“We designed Mastercard Crypto Credential to bring more trust and innovation to the digital assets ecosystem,” said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president, Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard. “Bringing our technology, standards and infrastructure together with Stellar’s commitment to powering commerce using blockchain technology, we are paving the way for safer, simpler, and more secure digital assets.”

“As the largest exchange in the Philippines, Coins.ph is at the forefront of driving innovation in the financial landscape, making Mastercard’s Crypto Credential on Stellar a perfect fit for us. In 2023, remittances to the Philippines reached $37.2 billion, highlighting the vast potential to bring millions on-chain—many of whom will experience the benefits of crypto for the first time, starting with fast and low-cost cross-border transactions made possible through our collaboration,” said Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou.

“Joining forces with Mastercard and Stellar through Crypto Credential enables us to offer our customers more secure, compliant, and seamless crypto transactions,” said Fabrício Tota, senior vice president, New Business Development at Mercado Bitcoin. “This collaboration strengthens our ability to innovate and connect traditional finance with blockchain solutions in Brazil and beyond.”

Pavel Matveev, Co-Founder of Wirex said: “Joining Mastercard’s Crypto Credential on the Stellar network represents a significant evolution for Wirex. By integrating with such a robust network, we’re able to deliver on our promise of making crypto more accessible and usable for everyday financial needs. We believe this collaboration will pave the way for even more innovative applications of blockchain technology and drive the future of digital payments.”

About Stellar

Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility.

About the Stellar Development Foundation

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world’s financial infrastructure. Founded in 2014, the Foundation helps maintain Stellar’s codebase, supports the technical and business communities building on the network, and serves as a voice to regulators and institutions. The Foundation seeks to create equitable access to the global financial system, using the Stellar network to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. For more information, visit stellar.org/foundation.

For further information, please contact [email protected].