The set of partners at launch of the Mastercard CBDC Partner Program includes Ripple, Consensys, Fluency, Idemia, Consult Hyperion, Giesecke+Devrient and Fireblocks.

While central banks around the globe are experimenting with centralized digital currencies (CBDCs), the payment provider Mastercard has launched a new CBDC Partner Program to foster collaboration with key industry players.

The group of leading blockchain technology and payment service providers involved in the project includes CBDC platform Ripple, blockchain and Web3 software company Consensys, multi-CBDC and tokenized assets solution provider Fluency, digital ID technology provider Idemia, digital identity consultant Consult Hyperion, security technology group Giesecke+Devrient and digital asset operations platform Fireblocks – the one behind Project Eden that transforms Israeli government bonds.

Each of the team members has a specific role in the collaboration. Thus, Ripple has vast experience on stablecoin and CBDC projects as well as the comprehensive proprietary CBDC platform. Fluency has been long working to build interoperability among different CBDCs, while Consult Hyperion has cooperated with central banks and payment processors to define their CBDC requirements.

To ensure CBDCs are available to the majority of citizens, they have to cover numerous use cases, including offline purchases. Giesecke+Devrient specializes in safeguarding both physical and digital assets. It offers a CBDC solution called G+D Filia to enable secure offline payments via a variety of wallet types and IoT devices. Idemia, in its turn, develops cryptographic techniques for offline payments to ensure privacy for individuals, while still maintaining enough oversight to prevent fraud.

With their vast expertise in the field, the participants of the Mastercard CBDC Partner Program plan to help central banks understand how to develop a CBDC that adds something new and valuable to the economy, as well as drive innovation in the central banking community and along the CBDC value chain.