Mastercard Partners With Polygon, Mercuryo to Simplify Self-Custody Transfers

Mastercard, Polygon, and Mercuryo are introducing verified username-style aliases for self-custody wallets.

Mastercard, Polygon Labs, and Mercuryo have announced an expansion of the Mastercard Crypto Credential to self-custody wallets, introducing verified, username-style aliases designed to replace traditional long-form wallet addresses.

Mastercard said it tapped Polygon first due to the network’s speed, reliability, and payments-ready infrastructure for supporting the rollout. Meanwhile, Mercuryo will act as the initial issuer responsible for onboarding verified users and creating Mastercard Crypto Credential aliases.

Crypto Credential Rollout

According to the official press release shared with CryptoPotato, the initiative integrates a verification layer directly into self-custody environments and offers users a more familiar method for sending and receiving digital assets without relinquishing control of their wallets.

The Mastercard Crypto Credential establishes a standardized approach for verifying blockchain addresses by enabling human-readable aliases mapped to verified individuals. Mercuryo has been tasked to handle identity verification and alias issuance, which users can then link to their self-custody wallets and request a Mastercard Crypto Credential soulbound token on Polygon to signal on-chain that their wallet belongs to a verified user and supports credential-based transaction processing.

This system allows users to transact using a single, verified alias recognized across the Mastercard Crypto Credential network, thereby reducing errors associated with copying long hexadecimal addresses and introducing a familiar payments experience to the self-custody space.

In a statement, Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard, said,

“By streamlining wallet addresses and adding meaningful verification, Mastercard Crypto Credential is building trust in digital token transfers. Bringing Mercuryo and Polygon’s capabilities together with our infrastructure makes digital assets more accessible and reinforces Mastercard’s commitment to delivering secure, intuitive, and scalable blockchain experiences for consumers worldwide.”

Why Polygon

Mastercard chose Polygon to ensure the infrastructure supporting Crypto Credential functions like a global payments network, supported by the Polygon Proof-of-Stake chain’s fast settlement, low transaction costs, and high throughput suited for payment-scale activity.

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Recent upgrades to the network, including the Rio and Heimdall v2 releases, have strengthened finality, removed reorganization risks, and increased transaction capacity. Polygon also processes a significant share of US-based stablecoin transfers and hosts an expanding ecosystem of fintechs, neobanks, and payment providers.

The latest announcement comes less than a week after Polygon announced that Calastone, the global funds network, has integrated its tokenised distribution solution with the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling platform. The integration will allow Calastone’s blockchain-based fund distribution system to run on Polygon’s infrastructure and support institutional-grade, on-chain fund operations.