Apr 29, 2023
Mastercard Launches Crypto Credential Solution to Enhance Verification Standards
Mastercard, a leading global financial services provider, has unveiled a new Web3 solution in a bid to increase user verification standards and reduce the risk of funds being lost to malicious actors in the digital asset space.
The new offering, dubbed the “Mastercard Crypto Credential”, was announced on April 29th. In an accompanying explainer video, the firm outlined that it is “building a way for Web3 and blockchain service providers to help secure transactions between users, verified according to standards set by Mastercard”.
The Mastercard Crypto Credential will be issued to users in the form of a unique identifier, enabling them to instantly verify that an address they are sending funds to has been deemed safe by Mastercard. Additionally, the solution is designed to support compliance with regulations through the exchange of essential metadata.
Mastercard has partnered with a number of wallet providers and blockchain networks in order to make the solution a reality. On the wallet side, the firm has teamed up with Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold. As for blockchains, Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Polygon Labs, and The Solana Foundation are all involved. Furthermore, Mastercard has tapped into CipherTrace’s suite of services to help verify addresses and support Travel Rule compliance for cross-border transactions.
The Mastercard Crypto Credential follows the firm’s launch of a nonfungible token (NFT) gated musician accelerator program in collaboration with Polygon. The program provides free access to materials, unique AI tools, and other experiences to holders of Mastercard’s Music Pass NFT.
Mastercard’s move comes as its competitor Visa is also ramping up its exposure to the crypto space. Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, announced a new stablecoin payments-focused project on April 24th, with the firm looking to hire a candidate with strong experience in Web3 and blockchain technology.
The emergence of Web3 solutions such as the Mastercard Crypto Credential and Visa’s project demonstrates the growing importance of the crypto space, with major financial players looking to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the technology. With Mastercard and Visa now both offering solutions to enhance security and compliance in the crypto space, it will be interesting to see how the landscape further evolves in the months and years ahead.
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