Mastercard says that blockchain developers Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Polygon and The Solana Foundation are working with it on a new set of standards it’s dubbed Mastercard Crypto Credential.

Wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin and Uphold are also joining the initiative for cross border payments targeting Latin America. 

Mastercard is teaming with public blockchain developers Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Polygon and The Solana Foundation on a new set of standards it's dubbing Crypto Credential in an effort to build the trust of consumers, businesses and governments in the sector. 

"Instilling trust in the blockchain ecosystem is a critical step towards realizing its full potential," Mastercard head of crypto and blockchain Raj Dhamodharan said in a statement. "We need a way for trusted, compliant, and verifiable interactions to take place on public blockchain networks."

Mastercard Crypto Credential "will establish a set of common standards and infrastructure that will help attest trusted interactions among consumers and businesses using blockchain networks," the company said, noting that NFT projects require different verification requirements than those needed to send or receive cryptocurrency.

The payment processor said the new set of standards will "ensure that those interested in interacting across web3 environments are meeting defined standards for the types of activities they’d like to pursue."

The news comes after a string of bankruptcies in crypto, from 3AC and Celsius to Voyager and FTX, have eroded trust in the industry. The value of cryptocurrencies has also tumbled from 2021 highs, and trading volumes have subsided.

Mastercard crypto standards

While the public blockchain networks including Aptos Labs and Polygon will help bring the standards to application developers in their ecosystems, Mastercard said that wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin and Uphold will also use the tools on an initial project to enable cross border transfers between the U.S. and Latin America and the Caribbean. 

"Together, we’ll collaborate to enhance verification in NFTs, ticketing, enterprise and other payments solutions," Dhamodharan said. 

The move shows the continued interest that large, global payment processors have in crypto, despite reports of slowed down plans amid a widespread market decline over the past year. Mastercard, for instance, has worked with Binance to issue crypto-linked debit cards in Brazil and Argentina. 

#solana #polygon #mastercard #blockchain #crypto2023

The company behind layer-1 blockchain Aptos (APT) is working with payments giant Mastercard to improve trust in on-chain financial transactions.

Aptos Labs says it is part of the team behind Mastercard Crypto Credential, a framework that aims to establish common standards for attesting interactions on blockchain networks.

The use cases of the new framework include remittance and payment solutions, according to an announcement.

“The future of identity is Web3 –  and Aptos Labs is partnering with Mastercard to make that future a reality with Mastercard Crypto Credential, an on-chain identity and verification framework with a variety of applications in payments, remittances, ticketing, and NFTs!

Aptos Labs also lays out its role in building the framework following the kick-off of the pilot project involving remittances between the US, Latin America and Caribbean countries. 

“As a Mastercard Crypto Credential partner, Aptos Labs will support the infrastructure for identity, security, trust, and verification tools that enable the free flow of funds between individuals and across borders.

Beyond payments, our partnership with Mastercard will continue to expand the utility of identity-oriented Web3 solutions to use cases like NFTs, ticketing, enterprise, and more – so stay tuned!”

Mastercard says it launched the initiative to address security and compliance issues hounding blockchain-based transactions. 

“We can help ensure that those interested in interacting across Web3 environments are meeting defined standards for the types of activities they’d like to pursue.”

Besides Aptos, the credit card company is also collaborating with the creators of Ethereum (ETH) rivals Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC) and Avalanche (AVAX). The Solana Foundation, Polygon Labs and Ava Labs will also take part in the initiative.

#Binance #crypto2023 #eth2.0 #aptos #mastercard