Mastercard Inc. said Wednesday it would begin allowing traders to accept some cryptocurrencies into its network later this year, marking the last embrace of digital currencies by a traditional payment player.
“We are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value (traditional or cryptographic) as they wish,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Resources at Mastercard in a blog post.
MA Mastercard,
already works with some cryptographic platforms that issue Mastercard cards that allow people to spend their cryptographic assets, but through these arrangements cryptocurrencies do not circulate through the Mastercard network, as cryptographic partners convert digital currencies to traditional currencies and transmit them a Mastercard. By moving to directly supporting some cryptographic assets, Mastercard “will reduce inefficiencies, leaving both consumers and merchants to have to switch between crypto and traditional to make purchases,” Dhamodharan said.
Mastercard plans to be selective about which cryptocurrencies it allows while getting started on its plan. The company will look for cryptocurrencies that respect the privacy of consumer information, follow compliance procedures and “offer the stability that people need in a vehicle to spend, not to invest.”
Traditional financial technology companies are increasingly experimenting with new digital assets. Mastercard, on the other hand, had already revealed that it had held discussions with central banks about the possibility of “central bank digital currencies” that would serve as alternative forms of payment beyond fiat currency.
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in the company’s latest earnings call that Mastercard’s emphasis on consumer protection and transparency, as well as its acceptance network, could prove useful to banks. central while thinking about this future of money.
Visa Inc. CEO Al Kelly told Visa’s V,
the latest earnings say the company also has deals with digital platforms and wallets that issue Visa cards so customers can spend their stakes on cryptography. “These portfolio relationships represent the potential of more than 50 million Visa credentials,” he said.
Kelly also spoke extensively about the prospects for cryptocurrency on the Visa platform. Needless to say, to the extent that a specific digital currency becomes a recognized medium of exchange, there is no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports more than 160 currencies. at present, ”he said.
PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL,
began allowing U.S. users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin through its platform late last year, and the company plans to allow consumers to use their cryptocurrencies as financing instruments when making purchases with PayPal merchants as early as this quarter. Square Inc. SQ,
CEO Jack Dorsey is a big supporter of bitcoin and began letting users of the Cash’s Square app buy and sell this cryptocurrency more than three years ago.