Payment giant Mastercard announced on May 29 that it is testing on-chain peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions to facilitate cross-border payments and domestic transfers for users in Latin America and Europe.
As a leading player in the traditional financial industry, Mastercard has been embracing Web3 and exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDC), distributed ledger technology, tokenized assets, and more.
In a recent announcement, Mastercard launched its foundational infrastructure for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, called Mastercard Crypto Credential. This infrastructure allows users in Latin America and Europe to easily and securely make cross-border remittances and domestic transfers on the blockchain. The feature is currently in its trial phase.
Mastercard stated that the P2P pilot transactions are conducted in collaboration with Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges. This collaboration enables users in Latin America and Europe to utilize blockchain for cross-border remittances and domestic transfers in a simple and secure manner.
The supported countries currently include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Uruguay.
Walter Pimenta, Executive Vice President of Product and Engineering for Mastercard in Latin America and the Caribbean, stated:
“The ability to move funds seamlessly across borders and in real-time has become more important than ever. We are thrilled to work with Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin to enable users in Latin America and Europe to benefit from this innovative technology.”
Mastercard Crypto Credential, as explained by the company, allows users of cryptocurrency exchanges to send and receive cryptocurrencies using their crypto credential alias instead of lengthy and complex blockchain addresses. This alias acts as a personalized address or a vanity address, similar to the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain names on the Ethereum network.
The workflow of the Mastercard Crypto Credential begins with the exchange using the platform, verifying users according to Mastercard’s crypto credential standards. Users are then provided with an alias that can be used to send and receive funds across all supported exchanges.
When a user initiates a transfer, Mastercard Crypto Credential verifies the validity of the recipient’s alias and whether the recipient’s wallet supports the digital assets and relevant blockchain to be sent. If the recipient’s wallet does not support the asset or blockchain, the sender is notified and the transaction is temporarily paused to prevent any loss of funds.
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