Marqeta, a leading financial technology company, has partnered with Stables, an Australian crypto firm, to power its prepaid crypto card in the country. The card, which is backed by Mastercard, will allow users to spend their crypto holdings at merchants that accept Mastercard payments in Australia. This move is expected to drive further adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country and make it easier for users to use them as a medium of exchange. The partnership will also enable Stables to tap into Marqeta’s global payment processing infrastructure and benefit from its advanced technology capabilities. Overall, the move is set to benefit both companies and pave the way for greater innovation in the crypto space.
Stables, an Australian stablecoin firm, has entered into a partnership with Marqeta, who will work with Mastercard to provide prepaid cards to Stables customers. Stables currently offers a digital wallet for its users and stores balances in the USDC stablecoin. With the introduction of the prepaid card users will be able to use their Stables balance wherever Mastercard cards are accepted.
Users of the Stables wallet will not be required to preload balances onto the card, thanks to Marqeta’s Just-in-Time Funding feature. The card is expected to be available in Australia before it becomes globally available, but the exact launch date is not clear at this stage.
Mastercard has an established history of working with crypto firms, and currently powers several other crypto-enabled cards, including those offered by Nexo, Uphold, Wirex, Bitpay, and Revolut. In October 2020, Mastercard expanded its partnership with Marqeta to launch new card programs in various regions. It is not clear what specific role Mastercard has in the partnership with Stables, but it is expected that the company will rely on Mastercard’s global network and services to provide its payment card.
Stables is also preparing to introduce wallet-to-wallet transfers and interest-bearing “earn” features, which will be available in addition to the payment card when it is launched in the near future. Stables’ website suggests that the card will be available from early 2023.