Mastercard ready to embrace digital currencies -- including China's

TOKYO -- Mastercard is warming to the notion of central bank-backed digital currencies, while keeping its distance from private sector-led cryptocurrency initiatives -- seen by many as a direct challenge to state sovereignty.

"If it is a digital currency established by a government and is accepted by that regulatory environment, we'll be operating with it," Gilberto Caldart, president of Mastercard's international operations, said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review.