Blockchain interesting but unproven, Mastercard

Blockchain technology has yet to live up to the hype, according to Mastercard CEO Ajaypal Banga.

Speaking this week at the FinTech Ideas Festival, he told CNBC that Mastercard had reservations, even though it possesses the third most patents in this space.

"I think blockchain could be interesting, but the business model is not proven," Banga said. "A lot of this has to improve and change over time."

Mastercard is, however, "deeply invested" in a few ideas, including the potential to improve supply chains and problems with counterfeit goods. "There are interesting possibilities with blockchain and to ignore that would be a bad idea," he commented. "We're just saying we don't know the business model yet.”

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