Global payments company Mastercard is putting together its own cryptocurrency team to develop digital coin and wallet products that could rival Facebook’s planned Libra coin.
The payment giant posted available job openings on its jobs portal earlier this month seeking to hire blockchain professionals, including in several senior roles, Coindesk reported.
“Do you have the desire to work at the cutting-edge intersection of payments and cryptocurrencies?,” Mastercard asks in a recruitment listing.
Those hired will “monitor cryptocurrency ecosystem trends” and “develop new products and solutions.”
Experts have called Mastercard’s planned cryptocurrency team “a smart move.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 43: Jewel Burks
Partpic founder and CEO Jewel Burks discusses how she developed an idea to streamline the purchase, repair and maintenance of parts. Partpic was acquired by Amazon in 2018.
Mastercard is a member of the Libra Association — a consortium of tech firms supporting the launch of Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency.
Other big companies in the Libra Association include PayPal, Uber, Coinbase, Lyft, Vodafone, eBay, Spotify and Mastercard’s rival Visa.
Facebook, backed by high-profile tech companies that do not include any banks, announced in June that it plans to issue Libra coin next year.
“(Mastercard) wants to be known as more than a card company; it wants to be a technology company,” Ted Rossman, an analyst with CreditCards.com told the New York Post.
