Global Payment Industry, Says President MasterCard Europe, May Not Be Impacted by Blockchain

MasterCard Europe president Mark Barnett has recently voiced doubts that blockchain technology will bring much change to the global payment industry.

Barnett said in an interview with the Russian daily newspaper Vedomosti:

“I think it’s more likely to be used in digital identification, for example, to identify an individual or to trade in valuables.”

He added that it “would be an exaggeration” to say that MasterCard works with blockchain technology.

Given Barnett ‘s guarantee that blockchain isn’t going to be a MasterCard competitor, Ripple is a powerful competitor. Ripple provides both digital assets and monetary payment platforms with quick, cheap, and scalable options. Ripple was founded in 2012 and now offers services to more than 300 financial institutions, such as MoneyGram and Standard Chartered Bank.

Besides, Ripple currently has different payment corridors operating on its on-demand liquidity (ODL) product, in different countries. The company also plans to create more ODL channels to allow its XRP coin to be used.

In an interview published by City A.M, Marcus Treacher, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Ripple stated:

“We have established On-Demand Liquidity corridors into Mexico, the Philippines, Australia, and Europe, and we’re hoping to further this expansion by opening corridors to APAC and EMEA this year.”

Recently another global payment giant, Visa, was looking for IT engineers with experience in blockchain payment projects and other payment processing aspects. That suggests the company could also invest in blockchain-based payments
Mastercard recently established, in collaboration with R3, a new cross-border payment network.

The Function of the Network
The network’s position is highlighted in open banking, where networks such as Mastercard ensure that retailers, customers, and FinTechs are served in a way that is safe but also ensures that customers have a variety of options to get what they want.

In battling the growing trend of digital, faster payments targeted by fraudsters — through authorized push payment scams — Barnett said there may sometimes be “too little friction in the process.”