Credit card provider Mastercard wants to provide governments and private sector banks with “a safe space” to find out how a CBDC would work.
Just a short time after the Message of crypto adoption Mastercard made the rounds, there is another piece of news to report about the credit card giant. Because CEO Michael Miebach according to media report took a conference call on the third quarter results to announce new plans. This includes preparing his network for a digital central bank currency (CBDC).
Miebach noted that the most likely way to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment will be through government-issued central bank digital currency. Mastercard will therefore prepare its network to handle a CBDC:
How can a country work between private sector banks and governments to figure out how to do this? This is where our sandbox comes in. We can provide a safe space for governments and private sector banks to find out how this would actually work.
Mastercard acquired CipherTrace in September
Mastercard is also very open to stablecoins from the private sector, noted Miebach. But he also pointed out that his company has “very strict principles” as to when it does this and when it doesn’t. Mastercard’s purchase of CipherTrace in September already caused a stir. Market observers rated it as one of the typical deals that established financial service providers are doing to expand their presence in the crypto economy.