MasterCard stated that stablecoins may offer faster and more efficient payment methods, but to unleash their full potential, it is still necessary to further improve the infrastructure that supports them.
Matthew Driver, the Vice President of Services for MasterCard in the Asia-Pacific region, stated in an interview with CNBC that stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that maintain their value stability by being pegged to assets such as the US dollar. For certain remittance channels and currency pairs that are not as actively traded, stablecoins may be attractive.
Driver said, "You wouldn't want to end up with a 'stablecoin sandwich.'" He meant that the entry process into stablecoins is slow, the trading in between is fast, but the exit process to convert back to fiat currency is also slow. He stated that this doesn't necessarily lead to faster payments.
He said that if real-time payment systems could be connected to stablecoin exchanges on both ends of a transaction, it might help to speed up the payment process, but "you still need to build the infrastructure first." He also added that market participants need to be able to use this technology effectively.
Driver indicates that the opportunities for adopting stablecoins may vary across different markets. In Singapore, retail payments are already very efficient, so the application of stablecoins in consumer transactions may be less common, whereas corporate payments might present greater opportunities.
He also mentioned that smart contracts could become a potential use case for corporate payments, enabling transactions to be executed automatically when specific conditions are met.
Driver indicates that after the implementation of the GENIUS Act in the United States, there has been an increase in interest in stablecoins in the market.
His comments come at a time when Mastercard is expanding its involvement in the digital assets sector, which includes the acquisition of a stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, a transaction that was completed in August. Earlier this month, Mastercard and BVNK launched Global Money Platform, aimed at helping banks, fintech companies, and enterprises manage payments involving traditional currencies and stablecoins through a single application programming interface.
Driver indicates that in addition to payment speed, Mastercard is also seeking to integrate blockchain and identity data in order to establish a trust mechanism on the same level as other payment systems.
