Mastercard Inc. plans to support the development of central bank-backed crypto currencies (CBDCs) and crypto-currencies by creating rails that can run digital currencies and fiat currencies in parallel. It posted net profit at $1.8 billion in Q4FY20, down by 15% YoY from $2.1 billion in Q4FY19, on the back of a large drop in fee income from cross-border payments, according to its financial statements for the fourth quarter of the previous year. "Our level of support will vary based on regulations in a given market. We will continue to be guided by published principles on security, compliance and consumer protection and the value to our stakeholders in determining our involvement in a specific initiative. There is certainly a lot going on and significant opportunity ahead," said Micahel Miebach, chief executive officer, Mastercard during an earnings call. The card network has been slowly investing in the crypto space with governments, banks and fintechs over the last few years. In May last year, it launched a crypto-card with Wirex in the United Kingdom in addition to expanding its crypto currency partner program. In September, Mastercard opened a sandbox for testing and building central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDCs). A few weeks ago, the card network launched a crypto debit card with crypto-exchange LVL allowing card holders to withdraw and deposit crypto and fiat currency interchangebly. "This year we plan on adding digital currency to report directly on our network, enabling our partners to take advantage of our acceptance reach and settlement capabilities. This…
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