Global Impact Week, an industry event featuring fintech, politics, climate, health and media innovations, kicked off in Valencia, Spain and will last from December 14th to 18th. The latest figures are from 100,000 participants with 500 speakers and 150. from live sessions. The editor-in-chief of Cointelegraph, Kristina Cornèr, was virtually present at the event and moderated it Panel titled Fireside Chat: Fintech Defining the Future with Liza Oakes, Executive Vice President of Market Development at Mastercard. This is what they had to say:
Kristina Corner: Im November, Mastercard announced the introduction of crypto-financed payment cards. How do you see this opportunity developing over the next few months or years?
Liz Oakes: We started the service in fiat money. You can start by using Mastercard to buy crypto where allowed and withdraw into fiat money again. That was the first step in the development of finding a secure Fiat gateway in crypto. And the second phase is about clearing accounts for potentially hundreds of cryptocurrencies. For the future, we look at CBDCs, stablecoins and how their developments can be supported.
KK: What other experiments is your company developing in relation to crypto, such as NFTs, payments in the Metaverse, etc.?
IT: Personally, I’m intrigued by NFTs, but I also know that there is a huge security challenge. The answer to that, which is still under development, may not be to pay out to an unconnected physical location.
KK: What role do you think new developments play in financial inclusion?
IT: I think the other day I read the statistics that 1% to 2% of the total [world population] participated in crypto. So there is a lot of money in it, but there is a very, very small percentage of the population who think they can actually participate. So there is a long way to go and we are not quite there yet.
