Payment giant Mastercard announced on Wednesday (29th) that its “Mastercard Crypto Credential” has gone live in its 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 Atlantic coasts.
The launch of this peer-to-peer (P2P) transaction platform is part of the payment company’s efforts to facilitate 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.
Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean’s EVP of Product and Engineering, Walter Pimenta, stated in a release:
Crypto Credential Alias
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 vanity addresses in cryptocurrency wallets, akin to the domain names provided by the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) on the Ethereum network.
According to the press release, exchanges adopting this platform will first verify users based on the Mastercard Crypto Credential standards. Users will then receive an alias to send and receive funds across all supported exchanges. When initiating a transfer, the Mastercard Crypto Credential will verify the validity of the recipient’s alias and whether the recipient’s wallet supports the digital assets and related blockchain being sent.
Mastercard stated that the wallet labeling feature will facilitate cross-border payments, helping Mastercard gain market share in the rapidly growing remittance service sector, which is a core focus of the company’s cryptocurrency initiatives. According to data cited by the International Organization for Migration, global remittance flows are expected to reach $831 billion in 2022, a 16% increase from $717 billion in 2020.
Mastercard mentioned that peer-to-peer transactions are the first of many potential use cases supported by its crypto credential system, which may expand to NFTs, ticketing, and other payment solutions depending on market demand and regulatory requirements.