• Visa is taking binding actions to connect digital currencies with its global electronic payments network. 
• To date, Visa has partnered with 54 crypto companies to enable crypto spending.
• The aim is to prepare for a financial future where digital assets are merged with the saver’s overall wealth.

In a world where technology evolves every day, the key to survival is rapid adoption to an ever-changing environment. Visa is no exception to adoption. By partnering with crypto companies, Visa is reshaping how money moves across the globe. Digital currencies are an exciting avenue allowing exploration of new forms of commerce.

VISA states on its official website,

“As a global payments technology company, Visa focuses on delivering the greatest value to people, businesses and economies everywhere, regardless of currency, channel or form factor.”

By taking rigorous steps, VISA is getting closer to connecting digital currencies to its global electronic payments network. Ultimately, this would prepare them for a financial future where digital assets exist alongside fiat or digital fiat currency.

Around 54 crypto companies have partnered with Visa to allow clients to spend and convert digital currencies through its card program. The progress is happening thanks to Visa’s FastTrack program which is integrating fintech companies within the Visa network.

Visa has worked closely with licensed and regulated digital currency platforms such as Coinbase and Fold to build a bridge between digital currencies and the existing global network of 61 million merchants. This summer, the firm launched two more products: a crypto rewards credit card together with BlockFi, and a debit card with significant crypto exchange FTX which just raised a record $900 million at an $18 billion valuation.

More than 25 digital currency wallets across the globe have also linked their services to Visa. This gives users a quick way to spend their digital currency using a Visa debit or prepaid credential wherever Visa is accepted.

Because of these efforts, Visa has become the preferred network for digital currency wallets. Companies are thus becoming even more eager to create a value to spend digital currency worldwide.

Benefits and Risks of Partnering With Payment Companies

Even if we feel strongly about new and great ideas, it is still important to weigh the good and the bad. Therefore according to academic research, the benefits of crypto partnering with payment companies includes; more efficient and safer payment and settlement systems, better visibility and transparency of monetary policy, additional monetary policy tools, more inclusion of the unbanked or underbanked, and of course, making it harder for the black market, money laundering, and tax evasion.

On the other hand, there are risks to the business models of commercial banks if central banks begin to compete with the private banking sector for deposits, increased systemic risks of the private banking sector, and privacy risks.

Will Visa Get Banks Hooked on Crypto?

Maybe. Wide-scale adoption of crypto also has a high probability of changing traditional financial channels, primarily if valuations in the volatile crypto market stabilize. According to the latest news, one of the central banks, Lloyds, is looking to hire a digital currency and innovation senior manager, which indicates that traditional banks are slowly but surely making a shift.

On The Flipside

• While there are more crypto-friendly card partners and hopes for a more prosperous future to become realistic, we still have a long wait until we can pay for conveniences, like bananas, with fiat and cryptocurrencies equally at any store. After all, we are still waiting until crypto achieves wider acceptance. However, the future looks bright.

Why You Should Care?

In an ever-changing world, adopting a current environment is key to staying on top of things. Learning about crypto partnering with major payment companies is no exception. The digitalization of retail payment systems reinforces its role. It creates a substitution effect on other forms of money, namely cash. Thus, everyone is affected. Learning about crypto partnering with payment companies like VISA can be vital for your decision-making when deciding to become a crypto user.