Mastercard, one of the world’s top global payment system providers, has onboarded several cryptocurrency and blockchain small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to expand its fintech accelerator programme, it announced on Thursday.
Mastercard’s Start Path programme onboarded seven additional fintech startups in a bid to train, deploy, and grow crypto and blockchain-based companies using its payments system platform.
The latest cohort consists of the following companies:
- Loot Bolt, a US company building communities with Web3-based social payment systems.
- Quadrata, who uses privacy-focused, Sybil-resistant solutions to enhance compliance public blockchains and reduce reputational risk
- Stable, a Colombian company providing peer-to-peer (P2P) payments and global remittances using stablecoin and related technologies.
- Digital Treasures Center (DTC), a Singapore-based company providing transactional technologies via card, crypto, and cash, using its DTC Pay platform
- Fasset, an Abu Dhabi digital asset exchange for emerging markets building Web3 use cases for customers to buy, sell, and own digital assets.
- Take Back the Mic (TBTM) has developed a world-first blockchain media fintech company to reward creatives and fans with monetised content platform.
- Uptop, a US-based company with a place for brands to build customer relationships and provide shoppers with bespoke rewards
In its statement, Mastercard explained that fintech firms played a “major role in digital transformation” with new ideas, customisation, and more choice for enterprises and consumers.
It continued: “We believe collaboration across the crypto ecosystem is essential to delivering the right solutions at the right time. From our experience innovating payments and building a global network, we believe it’s more likely that we’ll see a hybrid economy that combines the benefits of Web3 technology with existing financial infrastructure.”
Start Path Background
Mastercard launched its accelerator programme in 2014 as a six-month course designed to expand and commercialise startup solutions. Over 350 firms have joined the initiative, with startups such as Thought Machine and Zeta and Razorpay reaching unicorn status.
Start Path’s latest cryptocurrency-focused division, Start Path Crypto, opened in 2021 with a three-month programme to back crypto companies receiving seed, Series A, and Series B funding.
The news follows developments in mid-October after Mastercard unveiled its Crypto SourceTM programme, which builds crypto solutions and services for financial institutions.
The fintech giant offered a full suite of services for buying, selling, and holding crypto assets along with security and advisory services, building security and compliance capabilities for the global ecosystem.
