From Chris Skinner, The Finanser, June 3:
The CEO of MasterCard, Michael Miebach, stated at a conference the other day that SWIFT might no longer exist in next five years.
Miebach was part of a panel on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) but, as Shashank Bhardwaj writes on Forbes, once the panel was over a Mastercard spokesperson downplayed Miebach’s statement in an email:
“Let us clarify the intent of the on-stage comment, as it’s not as simple as a yes or no answer. Michael was simply reinforcing what SWIFT has previously said – their operations continue to evolve. Its current form will not be the same in the future. They are adding more functionality and moving past just being a messaging system.”
Whoops. Did Miebach make a gaff or what? After all, in five years’ time MasterCard and Visa might not be around. The keyword is might. We don’t need SWIFT, MasterCard or Visa in the days today of cryptocurrencies and P2P payments. But that statement is naïve because you have to have critical mass and, in all three cases, these networks not only have critical mass but also density, volume, value, history, trust and network effects....
....MUCH MORE
