Mastercard Integrates Kima for Stablecoin-Powered Prepaid Card Top-Ups

According to Cointelegraph, decentralized settlement protocol Kima has joined Mastercard's sandbox program, facilitating stablecoin-powered top-ups for prepaid cards directly from self-custody wallets. This integration allows Mastercard partners to utilize Kima’s settlement infrastructure, enabling prepaid cards to be topped up with stablecoins such as USDC and USDt from self-custody wallets across more than 10 blockchains. Kima CEO Eitan Katz emphasized the practical application of stablecoins for everyday use, aiming to remove friction and intermediaries from crypto-to-fiat conversions while enhancing crypto usability. Katz stated, "Our goal at Kima is to eliminate barriers between digital assets and traditional finance." The settlement system is described as asset-agnostic, designed to simplify cross-ecosystem payments, supporting public blockchains, private ledgers, and traditional banking systems. Katz highlighted that Kima’s infrastructure aligns with Mastercard’s objective to integrate stablecoins into mainstream financial usage, advocating for the coexistence of crypto and fiat currencies. In May, the European Central Bank (ECB) included Kima among 70 private sector partners to assist with digital euro innovation. These firms are collaborating with the ECB to explore digital euro payment functionalities and use cases. ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone remarked on the potential of the digital euro as a catalyst for financial innovation in Europe. Despite Kima’s institutional partnerships, Katz assured that compliance does not compromise control over funds or data. Know-your-client and Anti-Money Laundering checks are managed by third-party banks and virtual asset service providers during onboarding, ensuring Kima never accesses the data. Katz further explained that once a user is cleared, every transaction carries immutable metadata tags checked against local rules by Kima’s protocol-level engine. This process covers compliance from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation to Singapore’s regulatory guidelines before settlement. Katz emphasized that "keys are kept entirely under the users’ control," while cryptographic proofs ensure compliance. Institutions benefit from a plug-and-play control layer, and users enjoy true self-custody, according to Katz.