Mastercard is expanding its Crypto Credential program to include self-service wallets, allowing users to send and receive crypto using verified username-like aliases instead of long wallet addresses.
According to a Tuesday press release shared with Cointelegraph, Polygon will be the first blockchain to support the implementation, and payments company Mercuryo will handle identity verification and granting users aliases.
“By streamlining wallet addresses and adding significant verification, Mastercard Crypto Credential is building trust in digital token transfers,” said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard.
Once verified by Mercuryo, users can link a human-readable alias to their self-service wallet or request a soul-bound token on Polygon, which confirms the wallet belongs to a verified person.
Related: Why Mastercard’s $2 Billion Crypto Move Could End Bank Hours as We Know It
Mastercard’s goal is to boost the security of self-directed cryptocurrency transfers
Mastercard says the move is intended to reduce errors caused by copying long hexadecimal addresses and that the system is expected to work more like customary payment rails.
“This partnership marks the moment when self-care becomes easy,” said Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs.
Mercuryo, the program’s initial publisher, said the rollout reflects growing demand for secure but user-friendly cryptocurrency experiences that do not require giving up wallet sovereignty.
Mastercard is accelerating its crypto strategy into 2024 and 2025, launching Kraken debit cards across Europe and partnering with MetaMask on a self-custodial payment card.
Related: Zerohash wins MiCA license amid rumors of $2 billion acquisition of Mastercard
Mastercard uses Chainlink to enable cryptocurrency purchases on cnchain
In June, Mastercard partnered with Chainlink to allow its three billion cardholders to purchase cryptocurrencies directly online, marking one of the credit card giant’s biggest moves into Web3.
The implementation relies on several Web3 partners, including Shift4 Payments, Swapper Finance, XSwap and ZeroHash, with ZeroHash providing onchain liquidity for fiat-to-crypto conversions. Chainlink said the version available through Swapper Finance is fully uncustodial and uses account abstraction to make the process familiar to regular users.
Warehouse: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in cryptocurrencies – Canton, Zcash and more
