Mastercard and swoo pay unveil crypto loyalty scheme to tackle Google Pay gaps

Mastercard and Swoo Pay have partnered to develop a mobile payments app that targets developing countries. Their collaboration aims at bringing cryptocurrency-based loyalty rewards into the spotlight, filling voids left by Google in the global payments landscape.

Filling the Gap

Mastercard has been exploring cryptocurrencies and offering rewards to clients since 2021. In one of its recent publications, Mastercard offers a variety of rewards to clients. TrademarksMastercard announced last year that it would be developing software for crypto and Blockchain transactions.

Mastercard and Swoo are now working together to penetrate markets such as Africa and Southeast Asia, where Google Pay has a limited presence. 

In an interview, Filipp Shubin (co-founder of Swoo) highlighted the vast opportunities available in developing markets such as Nigeria, Kenya and Indonesia. He also highlighted the challenges encountered by the large base of Huawei smartphone users who can’t use Google services due to US sanctions.

A shared objective to address tokenized payment challenges 

Shubin provided further details on Mastercard’s intention to support Swoo tokens — a form of rewards given to users, which can be turned into other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or USDC. In a January pilot, 17,000 participants were rewarded with a 5% cashback cryptocurrency.

Denis Filippov, Mastercard’s country manager, highlighted the shared objective to tackle tokenized payment barriers for Android users by collaborating, with a goal to improve accessibility. He expressed confidence that Swoo users would be offered inventive incentives for their regular transactions.