Mastercard Joins Forces with Ripple and ConsenSys for CBDC Projects
Mastercard, the payment sector giant, has recently launched its CBDC Partners Program, an initiative aimed at fostering collaboration between companies in the payment services and blockchain technology industries.
The goal is to drive innovation and efficiency in the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
According to Mastercard's announcement, the program boasts the participation of prominent cryptocurrency companies, including Ripple and the Web3 ConsenSys software company.
Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard's Head of Digital Assets and Blockchain, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative, highlighting that partnering with key players in the CBDC space will allow exploration of ways to make CBDCs as accessible and convenient as other forms of money.
The initial set of partners also includes influential names such as Fluency, focusing on interoperability between different CBDCs; Consult Hyperion, collaborating with central banks to define CBDC requirements; Giesecke+Devrient, experts in physical and digital asset protection; and the digital asset operations platform Fireblocks.
Mastercard and CBDCs
This partnership aims to address critical challenges in CBDC adoption, including the issue of privacy. Consumer trust is also a central point, especially following recent events that have shaken confidence in the cryptographic ecosystem.
On the one hand, CBDCs have not yet gained widespread acceptance. While the BIS expects up to 24 central bank digital currencies to be in circulation by the end of the decade, over two-thirds of central banks say it is unlikely in the short term that they will issue a digital currency that people can use for everyday purchases,” concluded the company.
