Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach highlighted recent developments in Crypto and CBDC during an earnings call on July 29, arguing that the firm was well-positioned to remain a cornerstone of intra and international value flows. Miebach stated that,
What we believe we do is bring a perspective to the market as a multi-rail payment provider. We have to be in this space because people are looking for answers.
During the earnings call, Miebach stated that countries must make a trade-off between existing financial product delivery and what a CBDC is solving for, whether it’s financial inclusion or cross-border payments, and Mastercard has expertise with all of that, as reported by American Bankers.
Mastercard is also not neglecting the stablecoin sector, which has already seen successful currencies such as Circle’s dollar-pegged USD Coin (USDC) and is about to witness the debut of Facebook-affiliated Diem. Miebach stated that the company is preparing its network to allow stablecoin transactions, provided that its issuers meet legal criteria and consumer protection and safety standards.
Related: Visa approves Australian Crypto startups to issue Debit Cards for Bitcoin transactions
This week, Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures, told reporters that stablecoins and CBDCs should be in Mastercard and Visa’s wheelhouse in addition both card networks should participate in these innovations with gusto. On the public front, the company has also launched a virtual testing environment to assist central banks in simulating the issuance, distribution, and transactions of CBDCs amongst numerous parties.
Mastercard announced new collaborations earlier this month with Circle, Paxos, Evolve Bank & Trust, and many more on a collaborative effort to enable banks and crypto businesses to roll out crypto cards that can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Mastercard has been extremely energetic in keeping up with digital currency advances, owing to competition with its rival, Visa. The card announced plans to embrace cryptocurrency in 2021, allowing its nearly one billion users to spend their crypto at over 30 million supported businesses globally.
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