Mastercard Has to Be in the Cryptocurrency Space, Says CEO

As cryptocurrency adoption enters a mainstream stage, traditional financial services platforms are trying to adapt to the changing financial ecosystem.

To maintain their importance in this industry, payment processors like Mastercard and Visa intend to use their large client base and international reach to attract both government and private entities when they are testing their CBDC or stablecoin projects.

During an earnings call yesterday, Mastercard’s CEO, Michael Miebach, revealed that the company is devising a new initiative to help startups and a virtual testing platform for central banks.

Mastercard CEO: We have to be in this Space

According to Miebach, the cryptocurrency industry is still a relatively new market, and people are curious to know how exactly it works. His company plans to be the link that helps them understand the use cases and impacts.

“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,” the CEO said.

Miebach noted that the company is experienced in its field of expertise and is poised to provide central banks with whatever services they need, especially on the growing trend of CBDCs. 

“All of these countries have to make a trade-off between existing delivery of financial products and what a CBDC is solving for, whether it’s financial inclusion or cross-border payments. We have experience with all of that,” he added. 

On the topic of stablecoins, Miebach disclosed that Mastercard would soon provide support for such transactions on the condition that the issuers strictly stick to financial regulations and ensure users’ safety.

Just a few weeks ago, Mastercard announced that it had partnered with USDC stablecoin issuer, Circle, to test USDC settlements on its platform.

Mastercard’s Merchants to Accept Crypto

With several institutional and individual investors becoming increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies, payment facilitators like Mastercard decided to provide support for them to avoid losing their clients to competitors.

Earlier this year, the company revealed that it would start supporting several selected cryptocurrencies, admitting that they have become a vital part of the payments sector.

The initiative will allow Mastercard’s over 900 million users to spend their crypto assets on all supported Mastercard vendors.