Mastercard Faces UK Fee Probe, Pilots 5-Second Treasury Settlement and Crypto Card Rollout
UK regulators launched an investigation into Mastercard interchange fees alongside PayPal and Visa, potentially pressuring transaction revenue. It co-led a 5-second tokenized U.S. Treasury cross-border settlement with JPMorgan and Ripple, rolled out its crypto card across Africa with Immersve, and will pay its next quarterly dividend on May 8.
1. UK Regulatory Probe
UK regulators have opened an investigation into Mastercard’s interchange fees alongside PayPal and Visa, scrutinizing the fees charged on card transactions. This probe could pressure Mastercard’s transaction revenue model and prompt changes to its fee structures.
2. Blockchain Treasury Settlement Pilot
Mastercard partnered with Ondo Finance, JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform and Ripple to complete the first near-real-time cross-border redemption of a tokenized U.S. Treasury fund (OUSG) in under 5 seconds on the XRP Ledger. The pilot leveraged Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network to bridge on-chain assets and fiat rails, illustrating potential for 24/7 global markets.
3. Crypto Card Expansion in Africa
In partnership with Immersve, Mastercard enabled Bitget Wallet to expand its USDC crypto payment card across multiple African markets. The card allows users to convert stablecoins to local currency at millions of merchants, addressing volatile currencies and high remittance costs.
4. Upcoming Dividend Payment
Mastercard will distribute its next quarterly dividend on May 8, continuing its commitment to shareholder returns through consistent cash payouts.