Mastercard and R3 to develop Blockchain powerd Cross-Border Payment Solution

Mastercard and R3 recently joined forces to develop a blockchain-powered cross border payment system.

To start with, the newly announced blockchain-powered payment system will connect Matercard operated clearing and settlement network at Banks & schemes and global payment infrastructures.

Executive Opinion

Executive vice president of New Payment Platforms for Mastercard, Peter Klein, said, "Developing a new and better cross-border B2B payments solution by improving worldwide connectivity in the account-to-account space is central to Mastercard’s ambition. Our goal is to deliver global payment infrastructure choice and connectivity, as demonstrated through our recent strategic acquisitions and partnerships, including our relationship with R3. It confirms our commitment to innovation, both home-grown and through partnerships and acquisitions, to support advances and innovation in the increasingly complex global payment infrastructure space."

CEO of R3, David E. Rutter, said, "We are excited to partner with Mastercard to help shape the future of the digital payments ecosystem. All institutions – large or small – rely on the ability to send and receive payments, but all too often the technology they rely upon is cumbersome and expensive. Cross-border payments can be a particular pain point. Corda was designed specifically for enterprise use cases such as this, and we look forward to supporting Mastercard in bringing blockchain-enabled payments businesses across the globe."

MasterCard and R3's Blockchain Technology

The R3 agreement comes just after Mastercard joined Marco Polo Network, a trade and working capital finance network. The Marco Polo Network along with its 25 member banks are working to unlock potential $1.5 trillion opportunities in global trade finance.

Mastercard’s existing payment systems assets, brand and distribution with R3's blockchain expertise, allows Mastercard to offer innovative, value added services for customers. The partnership has a potentials to deal with high processing overheads, liquidity management and the existing lack of standardization and processes between banks and domestic clearing systems.

Mastercard has been looking to boost up its cross-border effects. The company recently acquired the Transfast to increase its connectivity across the globe in the account to account space. The latest deal adds to this by offering access to R3 Corda ecosystem, which includes more than 300 of the world-leading financial services firms, central banks, trade associations, regulators, technology companies, the announcement notes.