OneBit Developing Wallet Compatible with MasterCard PayPass

A Bitcoin startup, OneBit, says it is working on a mobile bitcoin wallet that will allow the cryptocurrency to be accepted at any shop with a MasterCard PayPass terminal.

Mastercard's PayPass enables contactless Payments with near-field communication (NFC) technology.

The OneBit concept was born out of a MasterCard hackathon and according to founder Toby Hoenisch, MasterCard gave very positive feedback. He commented, "We managed to get MasterCard and DBS bank interested in OneBit and with their help, I am confident that we can build OneBit without getting burned like Charlie Shrem did."

OneBit has appealed to the Bitcoin community for its support, which can help it gain acceptance into the bootcamp Fintech accelerator in Singapore and eventually secure funding.

The grand irony is that MasterCard was one of the commenters at a recent Australia Senate inquiry which expressed concern over Bitcoin, particularly its pseudo-anonymity. The development perhaps shows that while credit card companies are certainly in no hurry to tip their hats to digital currency, they may be becoming more open to finding opportunities for collaboration.