Mastercard Adds The Sandbox, Nifty Gateway, Mintable to 'Simple' NFT Purchase Scheme

Mastercard has announced that it's teaming up with several non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces to “bring its payments network to Web3,” making it possible to purchase NFTs with its debit and credit cards.

According to a blog post, the NFT marketplaces partnering with Mastercard include Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Mintable, Spring and Nifty Gateway, as well as Web3 infrastructure provider MoonPay. The integration will enable users to purchase NFTs in an "easier and safer" manner by using their cards, rather than crypto, to complete the transaction.

Combined, these marketplaces “generated more than $25 billion in sales in 2021—from art to sports to video games to collectibles to metaverse platforms,” according to Mastercard.

“We’re working with these companies to allow people to use their Mastercard cards for NFTs purchases, whether that’s on one of these companies’ NFT marketplaces or using their crypto services,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Asset Blockchain Products & Partnerships at Mastercard.

According to Dhamodharan, with 2.9 billion Mastercard cards issued worldwide, “this change could have a big impact on the NFT ecosystem.”

More flexibility for users

Mastercard also argued that by adding support for direct NFT purchases, the company will deliver “exactly what people want.”

The financial service provider cited its recent survey of more than 35,000 people in 40 countries, which found that as many as 45% of respondents had already bought an NFT or would consider doing so.

The study also found that approximately 50% spoke in favor of more flexibility in payment options, i.e. being able to use cryptocurrencies for everyday purchases or to use their credit or debit card to buy an NFT. Its findings mirror that of a recent Deloitte survey, which revealed that more than 85% of businesses polled are giving high or very high priority to enabling cryptocurrency payments.

This isn't the first time that Mastercard has partnered with an NFT marketplace; earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with Coinbase aimed at simplifying the purchasing process on its Coinbase NFT site, which went live in May.

In February, Mastercard also announced the addition of payments-focused consulting services for banks and merchants that cover everything from cryptocurrencies and NFTs to crypto cards and loyalty programs.