Financial service company MasterCard has announced the release of three blockchain APIs to its developer site that intends to facilitate new commerce opportunities for the digital transfer of value allowing businesses and financial institutions to transact on a distributed ledger.

MasterCard blockchain APIs include ‘Blockchain Core API’ that helps in running blockchain nodes, defining own transaction types, and managing participation in a blockchain network, and ‘Smart Contracts API’ enables writing custom scripts using Mastercard’s Smart Contract language. The third API ‘Fast Pay Network API’ helps in understanding instantaneous net position, doing real-time reconciliation, executing settlement and generate own custom reports, according to the website.

“Our technology can power multiple use cases and can help take time, cost and risk out of financial flows,” the website stated.

The use cases of MasterCard blockchain include P2P payments, P2M payments, B2B payments, trade finance, and supply chain, among others. The core features include safety and security, smart contracts and scalability.