Mastercard collaborates with Swoo Pay to launch a rewards program for emerging countries’ cryptocurrencies.
According to foreign media reports, Mastercard will cooperate with payment provider Swoo Pay to jointly launch a shopping loyalty program for emerging markets, in which rewards will be given in the form of cryptocurrencies to fill the market gap that Google Pay has not been able to reach.
Mastercard is partnering with Swoo Pay to focus on emerging markets such as Africa and Southeast Asia. The density of mobile phone ownership among residents in these regions is actually very high, so the demand for mobile payments is gradually increasing.
On the other hand, in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines, and Indonesia, there are already billions of users who hold Mastercard and Visa cards, so promoting mobile payments in these countries is a natural fit.
Although the mobile phone ownership rates in these emerging countries are increasing, most people use lower-priced Chinese mobile phone brands. Due to the US sanctions on Huawei phones, most people in these countries are unable to use Android and Google Pay, resulting in low coverage of the latter and creating a major market gap.
Therefore, the cooperation between Mastercard and Swoo Pay has emerged. Swoo Pay has already been deeply involved in emerging markets and can provide services in the aforementioned sanctioned phones.
On the other hand, the local financial systems in emerging countries are relatively underdeveloped. Using cryptocurrencies as rewards for loyalty programs helps local people adopt a more diverse range of options. In the pilot program in January, 17,000 participants enjoyed a 5% cryptocurrency rebate, which could be immediately converted into cryptocurrencies such as USDC.
Mastercard’s collaboration this time not only helps expand its influence in emerging markets through effective market segmentation but also serves as another attempt in the cryptocurrency business, achieving multiple benefits.
However, using cryptocurrencies as rewards for loyalty programs is not a new concept for card issuers. Mastercard has previously launched a cryptocurrency loyalty program with Bakkt, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, and Visa recently introduced Web3 brand marketing tools. The integration of payment scenarios with cryptocurrency applications is gradually maturing, and more diverse applications are expected in the future.
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Mastercard
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Swoo Pay
