Coinbase partners with Mastercard to simplify NFT marketplace purchases

On Tuesday 18th, Coinbase announced its partnership with payment giant Mastercard. As part of the agreement, Coinbase will allow users to purchase NFTs from its upcoming NFT marketplace via Mastercard debit and credit cards.

The partnership intends to reduce friction by facilitating direct NFT purchases via debit or credit card, eliminating the step of purchasing cryptocurrency first to acquire NFTs. 

Coinbase and Mastercard to facilitate direct NFT purchases for users

The cryptocurrency exchange said it’s working with Mastercard to classify NFTs as “digital goods” to make them more accessible and convenient for users to purchase directly. 

“That’s why we’re working with Mastercard to classify NFTs as “digital goods”, allowing a broader group of consumers to purchase NFTs. And, coming soon we’ll “unlock” a new way to pay using Mastercard cards,” as stated by Coinbase. 

To purchase an NFT, users have to go through an extensive online process requiring them to register themselves with a crypto wallet, buy digital currency, and purchase Non-Fungible Tokens via NFT marketplaces. To ease this process, Mastercard states that it’s looking for ways to “expand consumer choice” on how to pay for NFTs. 

“Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are used to this process. But for most people, it’s not simple, it’s not intuitive. We think it should be much easier. That will ensure NFTs can be for everyone.” Coinbase said in its blog post

Coinbase recently announced its NFT marketplace to facilitate minting and trading NFTs on its platform. Through this partnership, the exchange intends to deliver accessible NFT purchases to the users by simplifying their payment method.  

“Thanks to our work with Mastercard, we’ll be able to provide a better customer experience on Coinbase NFT, and plan on working to find ways to bring this opportunity to the broader ecosystem through Mastercard’s scale and global network., Coinbase stated. 

MasterCard has lately been associating itself with different crypto endeavors. The payment company recently announced its partnership with Bakkt to offer crypto-related services to users. Similarly, Mastercard has also established partnerships with BitPay, Mintable, and Gemini to deliver accessible cryptocurrency-related services to users across the platform.