Mastercard to start accepting payments in several cryptocurrencies in 2021

Mastercard intends to begin operations with several cryptocurrencies in 2021 within the international payment system of the same name owned by the company, Executive Vice President of Digital Asset Products & Digital Partnerships at Mastercard Raj Dhamodharan said, Report informs.

"We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network. This is a big change that will require a lot of work. We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protection and compliance," he noted.

"To be completely clear, not all of today’s cryptocurrencies will be supported on our network. While stable coins are more regulated and reliable than in the recent past, many of the hundreds of digital assets in circulation still need to tighten their compliance measures so they won’t meet our requirements," he added.

"Mastercard is actively engaging with several major central banks around the world as they review plans to launch new digital currencies, dubbed CBDCs, to offer their citizens a new way to pay. Last year, we created a test platform for these banks to use these currencies in a simulated environment," he said.