The new system is called Crypto Secure — and apparently uses "sophisticated" artificial intelligence algorithms to gauge how risky interacting with a particular trading platform is.
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Mastercard is launching a tool to help banks spot and cut off transactions from crypto exchanges that are susceptible to fraud, according to CNBC.
The new system is called Crypto Secure — and apparently uses "sophisticated" artificial intelligence algorithms to gauge how risky interacting with a particular trading platform is.
It comes over a year after Mastercard acquired CipherTrace, a company that had gained ground in monitoring crypto transactions and helping law enforcement after thefts.
Banks and fellow card issuers are set to be given a color-coded dashboard that shows whether incoming transactions are low risk or high risk.
And while Crypto Secure won't turn down transactions on a merchant's behalf, it's designed to help them make informed decisions.
Mastercard's president of cyber and intelligence, Ajay Bhalla, said the company already uses similar technology to clamp down on fraud in the fiat world — telling the news outlet:
"The idea is that the kind of trust we provide for digital commerce transactions, we want to be able to provide the same kind of trust to digital asset transactions for consumers, banks and merchants."
Bhalla went on to describe the digital asset market as "pretty large and substantial" — adding that Mastercard is determined to help merchants achieve regulatory compliance.
The company's latest product could indeed boost adoption of crypto as a payment method among businesses, enabling them to weed out transactions from illicit sources.
Building in a Bear Market
Elsewhere in the CNBC interview, Bhalla was asked whether the bearish turn in the crypto markets has affected Mastercard's plans to become a bigger player in digital assets. He said:
"These are market cycles, they will come and they will go. I think you’ve got to take the longer view that this is a big marketplace now and evolving and is probably going to be much, much bigger in the future."
And there's little denying that Mastercard is also trying to keep up with the likes of Visa, which has also started offering merchants advice for integrating cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Over the first fiscal quarter of 2022, Visa says it facilitated $2.5 billion in transactions from cards that are linked to crypto accounts.
Mastercard itself now boasts a network of 2,400 crypto exchanges — and Bhalla said the payments giant processes thousands of transactions per minute on their behalf.
Crypto debit cards emblazoned with Visa and Mastercard branding have become increasingly common.
Last week, Mastercard revealed that it would allow debit cards to be customized with blue-chip NFTs such as Bored Apes and CryptoPunks through a partnership with hi.
But not every launch has gone to plan. Earlier this year, a crypto project called Edge claimed that it was unveiling a "Confidential Mastercard" that could be used without Know Your Customer checks or identifying information.
CoinMarketCap exclusively revealed that Mastercard hadn't approved such a product — and Edge quickly had to perform a U-turn and pull the announcement from its website.
