Mastercard opens blockchain API to developers
Mastercard has opened up its blockchain technology to developers who want to test their own solutions.
The company is looking to spur on development in the B2B space, saying that its technology is designed to increase speed, transparency and costs in cross-border payments.
"By combining Mastercard blockchain technology with our settlement network and associated network rules, we have created a solution that is safe, secure, auditable, and easy to scale," Mastercard Labs executive vice president Ken Moore said in a blog post.
"When it comes to payments, we want to provide choice and flexibility to our partners where they are able to seamlessly use both our existing and new payment rails based on the needs and requirements of their customers."
Mastercard has also released a short YouTube video explaining the technology. In it, it says that this is a permissioned blockchain, allowing participants to keep the distributed ledger but also keep scalability and performance on top levels. The blockchain is based on an opaque ledger, meaning only participants can see the details of a transaction.
"Our blockchain technology can be used for clearing in near real-time card payment transactions eliminating consolidation and improving settlement," said Ricardo Sota, manager at Payments Innovation Mastercard Labs.
Privacy, flexibility, scalability and the reach of the company’s settlement network is what differentiates this blockchain from the competition, Mastercard added.
You can learn more about the Mastercard blockchain and the available APIs on this link.
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