According to CoinDesk, Mastercard's lead for blockchain and digital assets for Asia-Pacific, Ashok Venkateshwaran, has expressed doubts about the need for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He stated that customers are comfortable using current forms of money, and the adoption of CBDCs would be difficult. Venkateshwaran believes that for CBDCs to be successful, they should be as easy to spend as cash. Mastercard has a CBDC Partner Program, which includes participants such as Ripple, Fireblocks, and Consensys, aimed at encouraging conversations among industry players and deepening Mastercard's involvement with CBDC developments.
The Atlantic Council reports that as many as 130 countries, representing 98% of global gross domestic product, are exploring CBDCs. However, only 11 countries have introduced a digital currency so far. Venkateshwaran argues that building the necessary infrastructure for CBDCs takes considerable time and effort on the part of countries. Recently, Mastercard completed a CBDC pilot in Hong Kong, demonstrating how CBDCs or tokenized deposits can be used for real-world asset transactions and seamless funding and settlement in and out of Web3 marketplaces.
