Visa says it is working to integrate digital currencies with its existing global network of 61 million merchants.
The global payments technology giant is working with two licensed and regulated digital currency platforms, Coinbase and Fold.
In a blog post, Visa says the emergence of fiat-backed digital currencies or stablecoins promises a new payment innovation that combines the benefits of digital currencies with the “stability” of existing currencies such as the US dollar.
Explaining the company’s goal of providing value to people, businesses and economies regardless of the currency channel, Visa states:
We are reshaping the way money moves around the world and that means pursuing a wide range of technologies and partnerships. In this regard, digital currencies offer us an exciting avenue to continue doing what we do best: expanding our network of networks to support new forms of commerce.
The company says the stablecoin concept has “caught on beyond fintechs” and now “includes financial institutions and central banks.” Consumers and businesses are also adopting digital currencies, while reports suggest the circulation of stablecoins is growing rapidly.
The latest estimates indicate that the total supply is $ 12 billion.
Meanwhile, the payment company also reveals that already “more than 25 digital currency wallets have linked their services to Visa”, offering users an easy way to spend from their digital currency balance using a Visa or prepaid credential, anywhere. Visa is accepted.
These digital currency wallets are looking to “use the full range of Visa features”, including Visa Direct, an option that makes “it faster and easier for consumers to convert digital currency and push those funds to their Visa credentials. in real time”.
Visa explains that much of this work is happening through Visa’s FastTrack program, which helps fintechs quickly integrate with Visa’s global network.
Thanks to these efforts, Visa has become the preferred network for digital currency wallets, eager to increase their value for users by making it quicker and easier to spend digital currency around the world.
While noting the concerns of ongoing regulators regarding digital currencies, Visa says it believes that “the best way to address these concerns is to work closely with leading companies and the public sector.”
The payment giant highlights its experience and success which, in its view, are due to continued investment to “build and maintain a resilient global network”.
Integrating with emerging innovations such as privately issued digital currencies ensures that this legacy is maintained, adds Visa.
In 2019, Visa invested in Anchorage, a company building security infrastructure for the digital currency ecosystem, while a research team has been exploring the science of blockchain technology for several years.
The research team has since had several promising innovations, including Zether and Flyclient, and now their research focuses on new mechanisms to improve scalability and enable offline digital currency transactions.
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