Cryptocurrencies

Crypto Purchases Are Boosting Mastercard Customer Spending, CFO Says

  • Trend is starting to slow as cryptocurrency prices decline
  • Mastercard is piloting a prepaid debit card with a crypto firm
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Mastercard Inc. doesn’t traffic in cryptocurrencies, but it’s benefiting from them just the same.

The payment network’s cross-border volumes -- a measure of customer spending abroad -- have risen 22 percent so far this year, fueled partly by clients using their cards to buy digital currencies, Chief Financial Officer Martina Hund-Mejean said Thursday on a call with analysts. Higher spending on travel in Europe also contributed, she said.