In a groundbreaking move, Mastercard has teamed up with Swoo Pay, a mobile payment application with a strong focus on emerging markets, to introduce a crypto-based loyalty rewards program. This initiative seeks to bridge the service gap in regions where Google Pay’s reach is limited, notably in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.
The collaboration came to life with a successful pilot in January, where 17,000 participants enjoyed a 5% cashback in cryptocurrency. This scheme represents a significant step forward in the global payment ecosystem, addressing the underserved needs of consumers in emerging markets.
Mastercard’s latest venture with Swoo Pay aims to offer more than just transactional value; it’s about integrating cryptocurrency rewards into the daily lives of users, akin to traditional loyalty points. This strategy is not entirely new for payment giants like Mastercard and Visa, which have previously explored crypto rewards. However, Mastercard’s partnership with Swoo Pay brings a renewed focus on regions yet to fully experience the benefits of digital payments, such as areas with a significant presence of affordably priced Huawei smartphones, which lack Google services due to US sanctions.
Filipp Shubin, co-founder of Swoo, highlighted the critical need for such services in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Here, billions of Mastercard and Visa cardholders find themselves without access to Google Pay, a gap Swoo Pay aims to fill with its innovative solution.
The Swoo tokens, backed by Mastercard, serve as the rewards for this program, allowing users to instantly convert their rewards into popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or USDC. This initiative not only enhances the accessibility of tokenized payments for Android users but also introduces novel incentives for making everyday purchases.
Denis Filippov, a country manager at Mastercard, emphasized the partnership’s goal to solve payment challenges and bring innovative rewards to Swoo users, thereby enriching their purchasing experiences.
Mastercard and Swoo Pay’s collaboration marks a pivotal moment in the adoption of cryptocurrency in the loyalty rewards space, particularly for consumers in emerging markets seeking more inclusive financial services.
