XRP Investors may be looking at one of the most significant 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, indicating that a MasterCard integration may be on the way.
Bring MasterCard, self-management and more to XRP
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Xumm wallet main developer Wietse Wind enthusiastically announced to the community that self-control is coming. The announcement included a screenshot showing the ability to make purchases with prepaid XRP, a feature that has yet to disappear.
“Just in time for the holidays: the gift of self-guardianship. Xumm @Tangem NFC Hardware Wallets: Ordered with optional prepaid XRP to cover account reserve and an additional 50$ worth of XRP (no KYC). Full announcement and details: coming next week,” the developer said.
This created a lot of excitement in the community, but it also raised questions. One X user asked if users could link a credit card to their Xumm wallet to make purchases. The developer responded saying, “These are hardware wallets, they don’t work at terminals and ATMs.”
However, in a follow-up, the user stated, “Debit cards and Xumm is all I want.” To which Wietse Wind replied that they are working on it. “Debit MasterCard, self-custody, card authorization with custom ledger limits on your account using a Hook,” Wietse Wind revealed.
This is being worked on.
Debit MasterCard, self-custody, card authorization with custom ledger limits on your account using a Hook. https://t.co/BOlFKlddzx
— WietseWind (🛠+🪝 Xumm @ XRPL Labs) (@WietseWind) November 26, 2023
Token price recovers to $0.6 | Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview.com
Concerns about card costs
Following Wietse Wind’s announcement that the team was working on bringing MasterCard integration to the XRP walletQuestions poured in as community members sought clarification on what this could mean. A particularly recurring theme has been card fees that users have grown to dislike.
One user, John Mcclain, begged the team not to charge a +1% fee, citing the fees of another prominent payment platform in the United States. XRP space, Uphold, which the user says charges a high fee. According to them: “This can add up very quickly!”
To allay concerns, Wietse Wind reminded users that using credit and debit cards means incurring fees. This is because this is the way these cards work, and also “this is how they can insure, give cash back and make huge amounts of money.”
However, this problem does not seem to be foreign to the Xummm team as a developer revealed that using completely separate rails would be helpful in addressing the fee issue. But for now, “we will have to tackle the chicken and egg problem again and again.”
Featured image from The Coin Republic, chart from Tradingview.com