Visa’s Akshay Chopra, an executive, discloses that the company’s collaborations with cryptocurrency exchanges have enabled substantial payment volumes in the billions of dollars. The fusion of traditional payment cards with crypto exchanges is pivotal in propelling the adoption of digital assets, emphasized Visa’s Vice President of Innovation and Design, Akshay Chopra, during a panel discussion at the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit.
According to Chopra, the widespread use of cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions, such as buying a cup of coffee, is not yet commonplace. To address this challenge, Visa forged partnerships with 75 of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in 2021, enabling them to issue Visa cards.
This move expanded the network to include approximately 80 million Visa-accepting merchants, thereby catering to customers who prefer using cryptocurrencies for payments. Chopra stated, “Creating this connection alone in 2021 facilitated $1 billion in payment volume.”
Chopra emphasized this as one of several opportunities
Chopra highlights that blockchain-based solutions have the potential to disrupt and innovate payments settlement processes between financial institutions. He points out that existing traditional payment methods have their limitations, including the fact that they are not fully operational 24 hours a day.
“Banks engage in trillions of dollars’ worth of transactions with each other daily, but there is a cut-off time beyond which international transactions cannot occur. This is a significant pain point, and it’s both costly and inefficient,” explained Chopra.
Akshay highlights a pilot program conducted with Circle using USD Coin (USDC), which allowed various cryptocurrency exchange partners to settle payments with USDC at the end of each day. He elaborated, saying, “It’s more cost-effective than traditional methods, operates 24/7, and is innovative. You send the USDC balance, and Visa securely holds the funds on the Ethereum blockchain backend.”
Regulations pose a significant challenge for traditional financial institutions looking to fully embrace blockchain technology and cryptocurrency-based payments. Nonetheless, Akshay suggests that forward-thinking regulatory environments in places like the United Arab Emirates have been more advantageous to industry participants than reactive regulations in less crypto-friendly regions.
He noted, “When regulatory frameworks are established, they engage with the industry to understand its needs and anticipate future developments, ensuring that regulations are created well in advance.”
In April 2023
Visa gained attention by unveiling a cryptocurrency product roadmap aimed at encouraging the adoption of stablecoins and public blockchain payments within mainstream financial institutions. Additionally, the company plans to invest $100 million in exploring innovative artificial intelligence-driven products and solutions focused on payments and commerce.
