Mastercard sees crypto as asset class

04 Aug 2022

Mastercard views cryptocurrencies as more of an asset class than a method of payment, according to the Chief Financial Officer of the payments giant.

During an interview with Bloomberg, Sachin Mehra (CFO) talked about his views on digital currencies, and the success of Mastercard’s cryptocurrency strategy. 

“In the crypto world, we play the role as an on-ramp, with people using our debit and credit products to buy crypto. And we act as the off-ramp: When people want to cash it, we help them gain access to be able to use their crypto balances everywhere Mastercard is accepted,” he commented. 

“That’s a revenue-generating capability which has been fairly successful ever since crypto environments came up,” he went on to say. 

Mastercard previously announced plans to develop products and services in three main areas, namely: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Bitcoin.com reports.

The CFO was also asked how much traction crypto assets may receive as a true payment method: “For anything to be a payment vehicle in our mind, it needs to have a store of value. If something fluctuates in value every day, such that your Starbucks coffee today costs you $3 and tomorrow it’s going to cost you $9 and the day after it’s going to cost you a dollar, that’s a problem from a consumer-mindset standpoint.” 

Mastercard’s chief financial officer went on to say: “So we view crypto more as an asset class. But as a payment instrument, we think stablecoins and CBDCs potentially have a little bit more runway,” Mehra stated.

Earlier this year, the payments company included crypto within its payments-focused consultancy service. This compromises of “a range of digital currency capabilities, from early-stage education, risk assessments, and bank-wide crypto and NFT strategy development to crypto cards and the design of crypto loyalty programs.”


 

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