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Mastercard CEO reveals why the payments giant quit Libra

The Block reports, “Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga has revealed reasons why the payments giant quit the Facebook-led Libra stablecoin project. “Firstly, Banga does not understand Libra’s business model. ‘When you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like,’ he told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday. Concerns about […]

By Chris Sykora · February 3, 2020
Mastercard CEO reveals why the payments giant quit Libra

The Block reports, “Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga has revealed reasons why the payments giant quit the Facebook-led Libra stablecoin project.

“Firstly, Banga does not understand Libra’s business model. ‘When you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like,’ he told the Financial Times in an interview published Sunday. Concerns about Facebook’s data integrity was another reason.

“Thirdly, Libra was initially positioned as a financial inclusion tool, but when it transited to a proprietary digital wallet, Calibra, it raised a red flag for Mastercard. ‘It went from this altruistic idea into their own wallet. I’m like: ‘this doesn’t sound right,’’ said Banga.

“The 60-year old CEO also had concerns when the Libra Association’s members would not firmly commit to compliance measures, such as know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) controls…”

Continue to read the full article at The Block.