Bored Apes, Moonbirds to appear on NFT-enabled Mastercard debit cards

by · September 26, 2022

Mastercard has launched customizable nonfungible token (NFT) debit cards, allowing some cardholders who own avatars from select NFT collections to add artwork to the payment card.

The debit cards are made available through a September 26 partnership with European cryptocurrency exchange platform “hi” which allows its “gold” members to customize their debit cards with an NFT they provably own

Gold membership with the platform is achieved by staking a minimum of 100,000 hi Dollar’s (HI), the platform’s native token, a sum worth around $4,600 according to data from CoinGecko.

The cards will allow use in fiat money, stablecoins or any cryptocurrency the user has and will be accepted wherever Mastercard is available. Other features such as hotel credits, cashback incentives and discounts on Netflix and Spotify subscriptions are also featured as perks at certain membership levels.

Mastercard’s Crypto and Fintech Enablement VP, Christian Rau said with consumer interest in NFTs and crypto growth, the payment provider was “committed to making them an accessible payment choice for the communities that want to use them.”

A limited selection of NFT collections will be supported, including CryptoPunk, Moonbirds, goblintown, Bored Ape and Azuki, owners of these NFTs must become gold members with hi and verify their NFT ownership with the platform to receive their custom cards.

In addition, the cards are only available in 25 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Great Britain.

Related: Innovation will drive NFT adoption despite mainstream presence: NFTGo founder

With the broader decline in crypto markets in recent months, most blue-chip NFT collections saw a price premium, but data from NFTGo shows that the performance of blue-chip NFTs has grown steadily since September 12, possibly leading to renewed interest in the largest collections.

Mastercard has helped crypto payments go mainstream with its support for the assets, even giving Mastercard holders the ability to buy NFTs through partnerships with several NFT marketplaces in June.