Global payment and financial giant Mastercard on Wednesday launched a new crypto credential service that aims to simplify and secure blockchain transactions for crypto exchange users.
Called the Mastercard Crypto Credential, this “first peer-to-peer (P2P) pilot transactions” platform will enable users to send and receive crypto using aliases instead of long and complex blockchain addresses.
The Crypto Credential system has gone live across several exchanges in Europe and Latin America.
The live transaction capabilities are enabled on the Bit2Me, Lirium, and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges, allowing users from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Uruguay to send cross-border and domestic transfers across multiple currencies and blockchains.
“Mastercard continues to invest in its technology, standards and partnerships to bring safe, simple and secure payments to the forefront,” Walter Pimenta, Executive Vice President, Product and Engineering, Latin America and the Caribbean at Mastercard, said in a press release.
“As interest in blockchain and digital assets continues to surge in Latin America and around the world, it is essential to keep delivering trusted and verifiable interactions across public blockchain networks. We’re thrilled to work with this dynamic set of partners to bring Mastercard Crypto Credential closer to realizing its full potential.”
To use the exchange platform, the user will first need to verify under the set of Mastercard Crypto Credential standards. At this point, the user will get an alias to send and receive funds across all supported exchanges.
When a transaction is initiated, Mastercard Crypto Credential verifies the validity of the recipient’s alias and confirms whether the wallet supports the digital asset and associated blockchain. If the receiving wallet does not support either the crypto or the blockchain, the sender is notified. Subsequently, the transaction does not proceed, protecting all parties from the potential loss of funds.
Brazil-based crypto wallet provider Foxbit has also recently joined the Mastercard Crypto Credential pilot ecosystem, reportedly broadening its reach to more consumers. In addition, Lulubit users will also receive access to this integration through Lirium.
Mastercard also stated that the system supports the exchange of Travel Rule information for cross-border transactions, which is a regulatory requirement to ensure transparency and prevent potentially illegal and illicit activities.
Additionally, the financial giant plans to extend its utility to other applications, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), ticketing, and other payment solutions, depending on market and compliance requirements.
Mastercard has announced that a select group of wallet users will leverage Mastercard Crypto Credential on a first-come, first-served basis. The company plans to expand the service to more than 7 million users across the participating exchanges over the coming months.
