{"id":194604,"date":"2023-10-05T09:40:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T09:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/?p=194604"},"modified":"2023-10-05T09:40:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T09:40:09","slug":"crypto-cards-facilitated-3b-payment-volume-since-2021-exchange-deals-visa-exec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tokenstalk.info\/crypto\/crypto-cards-facilitated-3b-payment-volume-since-2021-exchange-deals-visa-exec\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto cards facilitated $3B payment volume since 2021 exchange deals \u2014 Visa exec"},"content":{"rendered":"
The integration of conventional payment cards with cryptocurrency exchanges is playing a crucial role in driving the adoption of digital assets, according to a Visa executive.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra during a panel at the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit, Visa\u2019s vice president, head of innovation and design, Akshay Chopra, highlighted the role that Visa cards have played as a bridge between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies in recent years.<\/p>\n
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According to Chopra, using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for everyday items like a cup of coffee at a cafe is still not ubiquitous. To tackle this challenge, Visa partnered with 75 of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in 2021 to allow them to issue Visa cards. <\/p>\n
This opened up a network of some 80 million Visa merchants that could, by extension, serve customers who prefer to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. Chopra tells Reguerra:<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding that bridge alone in 2021, and these numbers haven\u2019t really been made public, facilitated $3 billion of payment volume.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Chopra highlighted this as one of several opportunities for conventional financial institutions to tap into the wider Web3 ecosystem.<\/p>\n
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Payments settlement between financial institutions remains another avenue ripe for disruption and innovation through blockchain-based solutions. Chopra says existing protocols like the SWIFT payment system still have limitations, including not being fully functional 24 hours a day:<\/p>\n
\u201cBanks have trillions of dollars of transactions with each other at the end of the day, but there is a cut-off time where you simply cannot transact internationally. It\u2019s a big pain point, and it\u2019s also expensive and inefficient.\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Akshay highlights a pilot carried out with Circle using USD Coin (USDC), which enabled a number of cryptocurrency exchange partners to settle payments with USDC at the end of a given day:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cheaper than traditional methods, it happens 24\/7, and it\u2019s innovative. You send the USDC balance, and Visa custodies the funds on the back end of the Ethereum blockchain.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Regulations remain a hurdle for mainstream financial institutions to truly tap into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency-based payments. However, Akshay believes that progressive regulatory environments in jurisdictions like the United Arab Emirates have benefited industry participants more than reactive regulations in countries like the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they set up regulatory frameworks, they invited the industry to talk about what it needs, but also what the future might look like in a few years so that regulations are developed well ahead of time.\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Visa made headlines in April 2023 with the launch of a crypto product roadmap\u00a0to drive the adoption of stablecoin and public blockchain payments by mainstream financial institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The company is also set to\u00a0invest $100 million to explore innovative artificial intelligence-powered products and solutions focused on payments and commerce through Visa Ventures.<\/p>\n
Magazine:\u00a0The Truth Behind Cuba\u2019s Bitcoin Revolution: An on-the-ground report<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n