Mastercard and Kima take one step closer to a ‘DeFi credit card’

Kima, the asset-agnostic, peer-to-peer money transfer and payment protocol, joins the FinSec Innovation Lab, a fintech and cybersecurity accelerator by Mastercard, and receives a grant from the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) to fund an initiative to connect decentralized finance (DeFi) applications with fiat systems. The collaboration between Kima and FinSec focuses on developing a use case linking traditional financial instruments, such as bank accounts and credit cards, to DeFi protocols, platforms, and services.

Decentralized finance has been recognized for its creativity in applying innovative financial instruments through blockchain and digital assets. However, technical, financial, and regulatory red tape cause blockchain protocols to remain isolated—turning DeFi apps into fragmented liquidity silos locked within the boundaries of the host network and smart contracts. Furthermore, the absence of a convenient bridge between DeFi and mainstream financial systems contributes to a poor and complicated user experience.

Kicking off in late 2023, the grant powers Kima and FinSec to utilize its infrastructure to explore and develop methods to easily link everyday bank accounts and credit cards to a wide range of DeFi tools. The collaboration aims to expand on Kima’s existing payment protocol—which facilitates direct money transfers via blockchain and bank accounts without using smart contracts.

As part of the project, FinSec will operate a Kima node and serve as a key stakeholder in its burgeoning cross-ecosystem network. FinSec’s participation in the network further bolsters Kima’s payment protocol and expansive settlement layer ahead of its upcoming token and mainnet launches slated for Q2 of 2024.

Kima’s settlement layer is built to handle wide-ranging applications including cross-border transfers, crypto payment rails, DeFi borrowing and lending, gaming, RWA marketplaces, wallets, and exchanges.

“Kima and FinSec are embarking on an exciting journey together—one which we are confident will lead to major breakthroughs in how people interact with DeFi,” says Eitan Katz, CEO and Co-Founder of Kima. “The only way blockchain and DeFi will become fixtures outside the niche world of Web3 is if there is an easily accessible, secure, and affordable way to bridge blockchain networks with traditional financial means. The Israel Innovation Authority and Mastercard recognize the value and potential of our vision, and we are proud to have their support.”

“We are delighted to have Kima as a startup in the FinSec Lab and to support the initiative to seamlessly connect decentralized finance (DeFi) applications with fiat systems. We are thrilled to see Eitan and his team’s development and happy to see the success of their innovative solutions,” says Sidney Gottesman, CEO of FinSec.

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