Mastercard announced the release of a platform that will allow central banks to test governmental digital currencies (CBDCs).
Central banks will be able to customize the new Mastercard platform according to the environment in which they operate, which will allow them to model the ecosystem of issuing, distributing, exchanging CBDCs with banks, consumers, and test the interaction of digital currencies with existing payment networks and infrastructures.
The test environment can also be used to demonstrate how CBDC can be used to pay for goods and services at Mastercard locations around the world.
It’s worth noting that many Central Banks are enthusiastic about the idea of creating their own digital currencies. A recent study by the Bank for International Settlements found that 80% of them work on CBDC in one way or another, and 40% have moved from conceptual research to experimentation.
