Payment giant Mastercard has announced a new program for financial institutions in order to make it easier for them to offer cryptocurrency trading as well as custody services to their clients.
The program was developed in partnership with New York-based blockchain technology company Paxos, CNBC reports.
Paxos will be responsible for facilitating cryptocurrency trading while Mastercard will handle compliance and security, the two top issues that usually prevent financial institutions from dipping their toes into crypto.
Mastercard will take care of regulatory compliance, making sure that financial providers are not violating sophisticated rules.
The company's security management solution allows clients to monitor transactions and implement anti-money laundering rules.
Yuri MolchanAccording to the 2022 Mastercard New Payments Index, nearly a third of respondents hold cryptocurrencies.
The partnership between Mastercard and Paxos is not new. The financial services giant started using Paxos's stablecoin issuance platform for crypto-to-fiat conversion.
Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, says that the new offering makes it possible for financial institutions to offer cryptocurrencies in the "fastest and most trusted" way.
In early October, Mastercard also launched a new cryptocurrency assessment tool called Crypto Secure that uses the technology of blockchain security company CipherTrace, which was acquired by the financial giant in 2021.
Last October, Mastercard formed a tie-up with cryptocurrency company Bakkt to allow banks to integrate crypto into their offerings.
Jorn Lambert, Mastercard's chief digital officer, says that those people who are hesitant about crypto are more open to the novel asset if it is offered by legacy financial institutions.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team