Mastercard Inc. said on Wednesday it would start allowing traders to accept some cryptocurrencies into its network later this year, marking the latest embrace of digital currencies by a traditional payment player.
“We are here to allow customers, merchants and companies to move digital value – traditional or cryptographic – however they want,” said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president for digital assets at Mastercard, in a blog post.
MA Mastercard,
already works with some cryptographic platforms that issue Mastercard cards, allowing people to spend their cryptographic assets, but through these arrangements cryptocurrencies do not circulate through the Mastercard network, because crypto partners convert digital currencies into traditional currencies and then send them to Mastercard. By moving to directly support some cryptographic assets, Mastercard will “eliminate inefficiencies, allowing both consumers and merchants to avoid switching back and forth between crypto and traditional shopping,” Dhamodharan said.
Mastercard intends to be selective about the cryptocurrencies it allows as it launches its plan. The company will look for cryptocurrencies that respect the confidentiality of consumer information, follow compliance procedures and “provide the stability that people need in a vehicle for spending, not investment.”
Traditional financial technology companies are experimenting more and more with new digital assets. Mastercard, for example, has already revealed that it has been in talks with central banks about the possibility of “central bank digital currencies”, which would serve as alternative payment methods beyond fiat.
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in his latest earnings call that Mastercard’s focus on consumer protection and transparency, as well as its acceptance network, could prove useful to central banks as they think about the future. of money.
Visa Inc. CEO Al Kelly told Visa’s V:
The latest gains indicate that the company also has arrangements with digital platforms and wallets that issue Visa cards so that customers can spend their cryptocurrencies. “These portfolio relationships represent the potential of over 50 million Visa accreditations,” he said.
Kelly also spoke extensively about the prospects for cryptocurrencies on the Visa platform. “It goes without saying, to the extent that a certain digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there is no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already accepts over 160 currencies today,” he said.
PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL,
began allowing US users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin through its platform late last year, and the company intends to allow consumers to use their cryptocurrency balances as financing tools when shopping with PayPal merchants immediately after this quarter . Square Inc. SQ,
Chief executive Jack Dorsey is a big supporter of bitcoin and started letting Cash’s Square users buy and sell the cryptocurrency more than three years ago.