“Driven by customers’ increased need for fully contactless payment options in response to the COVID pandemic, we are proud to launch the first contactless biometric EMV bank card in the region,” says Suhail Salman.

Antelop Solutions, a financial technology business that enables financial institutions to issue secure digital credit and debit cards to their clients, was acquired by Entrust in a formal agreement. Entrust can assist banks and financial institutions worldwide develop integrated, seamless digital and physical financial card and payment experiences for consumers by combining Antelop’s solutions with the Entrust card issuing portfolio.

“Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming economies, making them more inclusive and efficient,” said Ajay Bhalla, president, Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard.

Founders of digital asset and blockchain companies participating in new Start Path program aim to address a host of pain points including asset tokenization, digital security and seamless access between the traditional and digital economy.

Mastercard and its partners will test this new capability to enable more banks and crypto companies to offer a card option to people wanting to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.