Mastercard and Swoo introduce crypto cashback on everyday purchases

In a striking step towards innovation in payment transactions, global card issuer Mastercard has joined forces with the Dutch mobile wallet Swoo. Together they offer a unique program that gives consumers the opportunity to earn crypto cashback on their everyday purchases.

Breathing fresh air into loyalty programs

Swoo, known for its advanced mobile payment solutions, has partnered with Mastercard to bring a breath of fresh air to the loyalty programs of banks, merchants and payment service providers. With the introduction of Swoo Loyalty Tokens, the company offers a new way for consumers to get rewarded. For every contactless payment made via the app with a digitized Mastercard card, users will now receive crypto cashback. What’s special about this is that Swoo does not issue physical cards itself, but allows users to use their existing bank cards for mobile payments, with the added benefit of crypto rewards.

This collaboration is a response to the increasing interest from the financial sector and the retail market in the integration of crypto assets into conventional payment systems. With the new loyalty programs, both companies hope to address the challenges such programs have faced in recent decades, such as low customer retention and redemption rates, delays and high costs.

Previous cashback pilot was a great success

The initiative follows the success of a pilot campaign called ‘Super Tokenback with Mastercard’, where users received 5% crypto cashback on all Mastercard purchases via Swoo Pay for three weeks. With over 17,000 participants and 128,000 transactions, the campaign resulted in a significant increase in spending and introduced new consumers to the benefits of crypto-backed rewards.

Users can exchange the earned Swoo Loyalty Tokens for popular cryptocurrencies such as USDT or BTC within the Swoo app, or convert them into fiat currency through partner services. With plans to support more Web3 features, Swoo aims to increase the value and utility of the loyalty tokens within its ecosystem.

This program is especially relevant for customers in emerging markets and Android users, who are traditionally less well served by existing payment systems. Swoo and Mastercard both emphasize their commitment to making digital payments more accessible, secure and technologically advanced, with a particular focus on integrating crypto into mainstream markets and simplifying the launch and scalability of marketing campaigns.