Mastercard supports cryptocurrency this year… From payment to settlement
Mastercard, a global credit card company, will support cryptocurrency payments at some affiliates within the year.
On February 10, 2021 (hereafter local time), Mastercard Vice President RAJ DHAMODHARAN announced through an official blog that he plans to select cryptocurrencies this year and directly support them from the Mastercard network.
Vice President Damoran unveiled a plan to support cryptocurrency in an article entitled’Why MasterCard integrates cryptocurrency into its network. He emphasized that while views on cryptocurrency are still diverging, their importance in the payment field is clearly growing. He explained that the number of cases of purchasing cryptocurrency with a credit card or paying with a cryptocurrency debit card is increasing.
“Mastercard is preparing for the future of cryptocurrency and payment,” he said. “We are carefully reviewing which cryptocurrencies will be supported based on consumer protection and legal compliance principles.”
Previously, it supported cryptocurrency debit card payments in cooperation with cryptocurrency platforms such as Wireex, Uphold, and BitPay. When a customer pays in cryptocurrency, the cryptocurrency platform converts it into fiat currency and sends it to Mastercard. The cryptocurrency has not actually passed through the MasterCard payment network.
From this year, Mastercard will support cryptocurrency directly from its payment network, rather than indirect support through partners. It is expected that more merchants will be able to accept cryptocurrency payment support and improve efficiency.
Meet the main articles of TokenPost through the newsletter (Subscribe)
Mastercard emphasized that the decision to support cryptocurrency is not to encourage use, but to allow customers, merchants, and businesses to choose their own payment method.
Companies are seeing that new payment methods can give customers and merchants more opportunities. Affiliates can attract new customers who prefer cryptocurrency or strengthen relationships with existing customers. Customers will use new value storage and delivery methods.
It also presented four key criteria for supporting cryptocurrency payments. The first is the same level of consumer protection as credit cards. The second is the establishment of a strict compliance protocol such as identity verification (KYC) to eradicate illegal activities and fraud. The third is compliance with local laws and regulations, and the last is stability as a payment method.
“Cryptocurrency should be able to provide the stability that the public wants as a payment method for consumption, not as an investment method,” said Da Moran, vice president.
Mastercard advances in ready cryptocurrency
Mastercard is one of the world’s two largest credit card companies along with Visa. It has a user base of over 1 billion users worldwide. There are over 30 million affiliated stores.
Global credit card companies have been working on a number of patents since 2013, laying the foundation for entry into the cryptocurrency market. It has acquired 89 blockchain patents around the world, and 285 applications are pending.
In 2019, we organized a dedicated team of wallet developers and cryptocurrency experts. In September 2020, Mastercard also launched a CBDC development test platform that allows central banks to experiment with digital currency in a simulated environment.
Michael Miebach, the new CEO of MasterCard, said at his first performance report after taking office on January 28, 2021, that he would integrate cryptocurrency payments into his network.
Payment Industry Accelerates Cryptocurrency Adoption
Large financial technology companies are rushing to support cryptocurrency. Visa CEO Alfred Kelly announced on January 31 that “we will support cryptocurrency as a more secure and universal payment method.” PayPal, a payment conglomerate that started cryptocurrency transaction services in the U.S., plans to start supporting cryptocurrency payments in the first quarter of this year. There is an expectation that cryptocurrency payments will be activated thanks to an extensive payment network and a large user base.
There is also a skepticism about the cryptocurrency moves of large payment companies. Gartner said in the official blog on February 4, “Centralized payment companies are trying to convert to future payment infrastructure through cryptocurrency products, but the fee-based business model is bound to lag behind the competition with the stablecoin’s P2P payment model. “No.”
<저작권자 © TokenPost, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지 >