Credit card company Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has teamed up with mobile payments app Swoo Pay to offer cryptocurrency loyalty rewards, which otherwise closes some of the global blank spots left over by Google in the payments landscape.
Announced on Wednesday, the new partnership, Mastercard and Swoo aim to target emerging regions like Africa and Southeast Asia, particularly areas untouched by Google Pay. The reach extends to connecting users in countries with a concentration of Huawei smartphones.
The partnership capitalizes on the success of a January pilot campaign called “Super Tokenback with Mastercard.” Over three weeks, users received 5 per cent Tokenback (crypto cash back) on all Mastercard purchases made through Swoo Pay.
During this period, over 17,000 participants conducted more than 128,000 transactions, boosting card spend by 56 per cent and introducing new consumers to crypto-backed rewards.
Once users earn Tokenback in Swoo Loyalty Tokens, they can either swap their rewards for popular cryptocurrencies like Tether (USDT) or Bitcoin (BTC) in the Swoo app or cash out to fiat money via partnering services.
As Swoo develops its crypto rewards platform, it will support more Web3 features, unlocking additional utility and value for loyalty tokens within the ecosystem.
Mastercard and Swoo Pay are collaborating to promote the adoption of crypto-based loyalty rewards in emerging economies.
In countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines, and Indonesia, Swoo users receive Swoo tokens as rewards for making payments through the app, even if they have access to Mastercard and Visa cards but lack access to Google Pay.
These tokens offer the flexibility to be converted into other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and USD Coin, or into fiat currencies.
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The app services neglected Huawei smartphones
“Another problem concerns countries with big market share of Huawei smartphones since, due to sanctions from the U.S. government, there are no Google services on top of these phones,” said Filipp Shubin, Swoo co-founder.
Shubin said that users can immediately convert the rewards offered to them to other cryptos like bitcoin or USDC. A pilot conducted in January saw 17,000 participants taking advantage of the 5 per cent crypto cashback scheme.
Big credit cards offering cryptocurrency as a reward isn’t exactly new, and it has something of a spotty success rate.
Mastercard teamed with the Bakkt platform to make a cryptocurrency loyalty program back in 2021. Visa also partnered with BlockFi to offer a credit card that lets users pick up bitcoin on purchases. BlockFi is no longer operating, having met its demise in November 2022, in the depths of the crypto-winter.
Meanwhile, Mastercard has enjoyed successes with partnerships with crypto exchanges such as Binance, Nexo, and Gemini.
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