Mastercard to Assist Central Banks Involved in Digital Currencies

Mastercard, one of the world’s largest payment providers, is working to launch what it calls a testing platform for central bank digital currencies, allowing those organizations to test the waters of cryptocurrency.

Considering the vast majority of central banks are interested in the idea, Mastercard’s platform will help ensure they can try this out without fully committing to them.

The release describes Mastercard’s platform:

“The platform enables the simulation of issuance, distribution and exchange of CBDCs between banks, financial service providers and consumers. Central banks, commercial banks, and tech and advisory firms are invited to partner with Mastercard to assess CBDC tech designs, validate use cases and evaluate interoperability with existing payment rails available for consumers and businesses today.”

Speaking on the matter is Raj Dhamodharan, the Executive Vice President of Digital Asset and Blockchain Products and Partnerships at Mastercard, who said:

“Central banks have accelerated their exploration of digital currencies with a variety of objectives, from fostering financial inclusion to modernizing the payments ecosystem. Mastercard is driving innovation with the public sector, banks, fintechs, and advisory firms in the exploration of CBDCs, working with partners that are aligned to our core values and principles. This new platform supports central banks as they make decisions now and in the future about the path forward for local and regional economies.”