Visa Inc, the world’s largest payment processor, on Wednesday launched a global cryptocurrency advisory service for clients such as banks and merchants, as the adoption of digital currencies number is increasing.
Visa’s move comes amid unprecedented investor demand for the company’s latest crypto services and products aimed at financial institutions looking to attract or retain customers. with crypto services, retailers looking to research non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or central banks exploring digital currencies.
Visa’s services include educating institutions on cryptocurrency, enabling customers to use the payment processor’s network for digital services, and helping to manage backend operations.
“We came to Visa to learn more about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins and the most relevant use cases for our retail and commercial businesses,” said Uma Wilson, executive vice president at UMB Bank, a US regional lender.
A new global study by Visa shows that nearly 40% of crypto holders surveyed will likely or very likely switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products. die in the next 12 months.
Visa is currently using its network to enable the purchase, sale, and custody of digital currencies. It also offers a credit card that allows users to earn bitcoin on purchases, and also allows the use of USD Coin, a stablecoin cryptocurrency whose value is directly pegged to the US dollar, to pay for transactions on its payment network.
However, for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to be used as a medium of exchange, price stability is required, Visa Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu told Reuters.
“If the price fluctuates between $60,000 and $50,000 in the next few hours, it is a very difficult thing for a merchant to accept (bitcoin) as a currency,” Prabhu said.
“I don’t know if cryptocurrencies like bitcoin will ever become a medium of exchange. Stablecoins will,” he said, adding that Visa will facilitate such transactions when the time comes. suitable.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the syndication feed.)
