MasterCard and TransferWise Executives Debate Blockchain Disruption at Davos
Blockchain technology has been a huge topic of conversation at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the subject was brought up by TechCrunch’s Matt Burns during a panel that featured TransferWise co-founder and CEO Taavet Hinrikus and MasterCard President of International Markets Ann Cairns. Both participants on the panel seemed to....
Related News
Everyone from Nick Szabo, who developed the concept of smart contracts, to Blockchain Capital Managing Partner Brock Pierce has been touting Bitcoin’s value as a vehicle for international money transfers lately, but it appears that TransferWise CEO Taavet Hinrikus has not received the memo. Hinrikus was recently on a panel with MasterCard President of International Markets Ann Cairns at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and he did not seem threatened when asked about the new Bitcoin-based alternatives to his service, such as Align Commerce, that have popped up over the past year. Although....
MasterCard is looking to stay ahead of the curve by refusing to rush into integrating blockchain technology into their business model. Citing concerns regarding regulation, investment and security, MasterCard Chief Innovation Officer Garry Lyons stated why he didn’t want MasterCard to be “blindsided” by block chain in his comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “It’s not just the industry that’s excited about blockchain — it’s the world, everyone. Even at Davos, every single tech panel I have gone to mentions blockchain and some people call it ‘the second coming.’ But....
Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard told an audience of blockchain executives that he expects SWIFT to phase out of existence in as little as five years' time. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said on Tuesday that he does not expect SWIFT, one of the most widely used platforms for cross-border fiat transactions, to exist in five years' time. Miebach was speaking at a panel session on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as part of the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)’s Blockchain Central Davos conference, which ran adjacent to the World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos,....
Euro and bitcoin payment processor Cashila has hinted that Transferwise has decided to block deposits to its bank accounts. Transferwise is a traditional money transfer service which gained popularity promising cheaper money transfers. Cashila users often use it to deposit funds into their accounts and to ICONOMI, its ether-based service. As a result, it surprised Cashila when one of its users complained that it was no longer possible to send funds to the processor through Transferwise. Cashila stated on its website: Transferwise did not notify us beforehand of their decision. We....
Back in 2013, TransferWise had stopped processing transfers to Bitcoin exchanges. The money transfer service however was extremely apologetic, and simply blamed their banks for making them take such a "heart-breaking" decision, saying: "The banks - just like everyone else in the sector - are nervous because they don't know what to think of Bitcoin. The regulators and politicians' silence on the topic leaves us all in the dark." TransferWise was visibly sandwiched between its very own morals and the bankers' muscles. The UK-based firm had always supported the digital currency technology,....