MasterCard Coming To XRP? Prominent Developer Teases Major Upgrade

XRP investors may be looking at one of the most important upgrades yet according to a prominent developer in the community. This was revealed by the lead developer of one of the major projects building on the XRP Ledger, hinting that a MasterCard integration may be coming.

In a post that was shared on X (formerly Twitter), Xumm Wallet lead developer Wietse Wind excitedly announced to the community that self-custody is on the way. The announcement featured a screenshot that showed the option to make purchases with prepaid XRP, a feature that is yet to drop.

“Right on time for the holidays: the gift of self custody. Xumm @Tangem  NFC hardware wallets: ordered with optional pre-paid XRP to cover the account reserve & an additional 50$ in XRP (no KYC). Full announcement & details: upcoming week,” the developer said.

This sparked a lot of excitement in the community but these also came with questions. One X user asked if users would be able to link a credit card to their Xumm wallet to make purchases. The developer responded by saying “These are hardware wallets, they don’t work @ terminals and ATMs.”

However, in a follow-up, the user declared “Debit cards and Xumm is all I want.” To which Wietse Wind responded that they are working on it. “Debit MasterCard, self custody, card authorization with custom on ledger limits on your account using a Hook,” Wietse Wind revealed.

Working on this.

Debit MasterCard, self custody, card authorization with custom on ledger limits on your account using a Hook. https://t.co/BOlFKlddzx

— WietseWind (+ Xumm @ XRPL Labs) (@WietseWind) November 26, 2023

Following Wietse Wind’s announcement that the team was working on bringing MasterCard integration to the XRP wallet, questions flowed as community members sought out clarifications on what this could mean. One particularly recurring theme was card fees which users have come to loathe.

One user John Mcclain implored the team to not have a +1% fee on charges, referencing the charges by another prominent payment platform in the XRP space, Uphold, which the user says charges a high fee. According to them, “This can really add up quick!”

Moving to allay worries, Wietse Wind reminded users that using credit and debit cards means that there will be fees attached. This is because this is how these cards work, and also “that’s how they are able to insure, give cash backs, and make tremendous amounts of money.”

However, this problem does not seem to be alien to the Xumm team as the developer revealed that running entirely separate rails would be beneficial in addressing the fees issue. But for now, “we’ll have to address the chicken/egg problem over and over again.”