Payment giant Mastercard announced on Wednesday (29th) that its “Mastercard Crypto Credential” has been launched in the first peer-to-peer pilot transaction. The network supports real-time transactions on Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges, enabling cross-border payments between the two sides of the Atlantic.
The launch of this peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform is part of the payment company’s efforts to promote cross-border payments using digital assets. Mastercard stated that users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Uruguay will be able to make cross-border and domestic transfers across multiple currencies and blockchains.
“The Mastercard Crypto Credential” operates a demonstration. Walter Pimenta, Executive Vice President of Product and Engineering for Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean, stated in a statement:
The Mastercard Crypto Credential will also allow users of cryptocurrency exchanges to send and receive cryptocurrencies through their crypto credential aliases, instead of using long and complex blockchain addresses. This alias is a personalized address, similar to the vanity addresses provided by the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) on the Ethereum network.
According to the press release, exchanges adopting this platform will first verify users according to the Mastercard Crypto Credential standards. At this point, users will receive an alias to send and receive funds across all supported exchanges. When a user initiates a transfer, the Mastercard Crypto Credential will verify if the recipient’s alias is valid and if the recipient’s wallet supports the digital assets and related blockchain to be sent.
Mastercard stated that this wallet tagging feature will facilitate cross-border payments and help the company gain market share in the rapidly growing remittance services sector, which is the core of its push into cryptocurrencies. According to data cited by the International Organization for Migration, the total amount of global remittances by immigrants is expected to reach $831 billion in 2022, an increase of about 16% from $717 billion in 2020.
Mastercard stated that peer-to-peer transactions are the first of many potential use cases supported by its Crypto Credential system and may expand to NFTs, ticketing, and other payment solutions, depending on market and compliance requirements.
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