Mastercard, Polygon, and Mercuryo have teamed up to launch verified username-style aliases for self-custody wallets, aiming to simplify transactions with digital assets.

Mastercard selected Polygon for its speed, reliability, and payment-ready infrastructure, while Mercuryo will facilitate user verification and the issuance of alias credentials.

Crypto Credential Rollout

According to the press release, this initiative incorporates a verification layer that provides users with a simplified method for sending and receiving assets without forfeiting wallet control. The Mastercard Crypto Credential aims to standardize the verification of blockchain addresses by mapping human-readable aliases to verified individuals.

Mercuryo will manage identity verification and alias issuance, which users can link to their wallets, allowing the request for a Mastercard Crypto Credential soulbound token on Polygon to indicate that their wallet is associated with a verified user and can conduct credential-based transactions.

This approach enables transactions to occur using a single, verified alias recognized throughout the Mastercard Crypto Credential network, reducing the risk of mistakes from copying lengthy hexadecimal addresses and providing a familiar payment experience in self-custody.

In a statement, Raj Dhamodharan stated:

“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 create an infrastructure that mirrors a global payments network, supported by Polygon’s fast settlement and low transaction costs, making it optimal for payment-scale activity. With updates such as the Rio and Heimdall v2 releases, Polygon has bolstered its capabilities, strengthening transaction capacity and processing a significant volume of US-based stablecoin transfers.

This announcement follows closely after Polygon integrated its tokenized fund distribution solution with Calastone, enhancing the functionality for institutional-grade, on-chain fund operations.