Mastercard is eyeing the crypto wallet space, according to new job ads

Mastercard is looking to fill three senior-level positions to lead efforts in cryptocurrency, focusing on payments and wallets solutions, according to the company’s job board. 

The open roles include two directors titled "product development & innovation - blockchain solutions architect" and "product management - cryptocurrency/wallets," and one vice president in the product management of blockchain. According to the job descriptions, the new employees will “work with a cross-functional team comprising of Franchise, Compliance, Regulation, Products, Labs, Regions and Technology to develop new products and solutions.” 

Notably, two of the job descriptions also mention “wallet solutions” specifically as a part of the blockchain projects these new hires are expected to lead. These two roles also require candidates to have experience managing cryptocurrency wallet products. It is not clear what these wallet solutions will look like. However, Mastercard's recent partnership with Facebook may offer it a new opportunity to collaborate or build its own cryptocurrency wallet.  

The credit card company is one of the 27 inaugural members of Facebook’s much controversial blockchain project, Libra. Along with the project, the social media giant also launched its own cryptocurrency wallet, Calibra, to capitalize on the likely mass adoption of its cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, other members can also build their own applications on the Libra blockchain, which means that it is possible for Mastercard to start an alternative wallet solution to rival Facebook’s Calibra. 

Branded as an innovation that will make financial services more accessible, the Libra project is considered by many as the disruptor to the current credit card payment dominance led by Mastercard and Visa. However, some analysts also pointed out that these credit card companies may make gains from the Libra project by influencing its design system.

Besides the three executive-level roles, Mastercard is also recruiting for blockchain engineers and analysts with blockchain knowledge. The company has been working on developing its own blockchain for years. In 2017, it announced that it was opening its blockchain to merchants and banks to experiment with a new payment network. Last year, it hired 175 engineers, including people with expertise in blockchain.