Mastercard ventures further into the blockchain space. The second-largest payment processor worldwide has just announced a plan to roll out the Multi-Token Network (MTN), tailored for the payment processing and banking industries. The MTN will provide the blockchain framework for secure, scalable, and interoperable transactions, contributing to more efficient payments and settlements.
The release names four “pillars of trust” built into the network that address key industry needs:
- trust in counterparty, related to identity and permissions management with Mastercard Crypto Credentials,
- trust in digital payment asset, based on stable and regulated tokens for payment and other financial applications, including deposit platforms,
- trust in technology, resulting from the reliability of scalable and interoperable blockchain networks,
- and trust in consumer protection, based on Mastercard’s standards and rules for the company’s card network, prioritizing consumer protection and regulatory compliance.
– We believe that digital asset and blockchain technologies today are on a similar trajectory, one day becoming critical infrastructure for storing and moving value. In bringing the power of 24/7 operations, programmability and immutability to all aspects of the economy, blockchain capabilities and tokenization can reach their full potential, delivering true transformation – Raj Dhamodharan, the head of crypto and blockchain at Mastercard, said in the release.
Read also: Mastercard to offer fiat card payments for NFTs, Web3 services
The MTN pilot project, described by Dhamodharan as an “app store powered by blockchain technologies for building regulated financial applications,” will launch this summer in the UK, with a number of banks and financial institutions invited to participate. The beta will provide programmers with app development tools created by Mastercard in the past few months.
The MTN project follows other recent Mastercard initiatives. Earlier in June, the giant announced a collaboration with several NFT and Web3 platforms to enable NFT purchases with Mastercard cards. In April, the company launched a Crypto Card Program “that enables simple & real-time use of digital currency for consumers.” In the same month, it announced Mastercard Crypto Credential – a set of verification standards enabling trusted interactions between users and businesses, now to be used in the MTN beta.
