Payments giant Mastercard is taking a leap of faith into the digital currencies sector, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The decision to “begin testing” of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) platform comes after a setback in the development of a CBDC by 13 major central banks.
Mastercard EVP Raj Dhamodharan told Fortune that the company is already a number of central banks and that it is inviting more tech companies to test out the platform.
The movement to create a centralised digital currency on a national level is clearly gathering momentum following Facebook’s proposed Libra project, which is a digital currency that will use the blockchain for transactions.
Today, @Mastercard announced a tech-innovation testing platform for central banks to assess & explore #CBDCs deployment around the world. Learn more: https://t.co/pagEccw350
— Mastercard News (@MastercardNews) September 9, 2020
Considering the impact of Mastercard’s announcement on CBDCs, Blockdaemon CEO Konstantin Richter said: “The development of Mastercard’s testing platform presents a significant opportunity for newcomers to the crypto space, by lowering the barrier to entry for users interested in getting involved in digital money.
“Projects driven by large institutions enable users to experiment, while providing a higher barometer of trust due to the institutional backing of such initiatives.This move also offers advantages for the advancement of digital currency research in a controlled environment.
“Overall, Mastercard’s testing platform complements private stablecoin projects, such as Libra, as it not only propels forward wider adoption, but also bridges the gap to new and better ways of doing business for the future of finance.”
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.