Visa reaffirms commitment to crypto technology despite recent reports – here’s the latest
Visa has reiterated its commitment to crypto strategy, refuting recent reports that the payments giant plans to pause its crypto push due to uncertain market conditions.
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s vice president and head of crypto, said in a recent tweet that the company plans to continue working on its crypto strategy and enter into new partnerships with companies working in the digital asset space. He said:
“We continue to work with crypto companies to improve fiat on and off ramps, as well as advance our product roadmap to build new products that can facilitate Stablecoin payments in a secure, compliant and convenient way.”
Sheffield added that the recent crypto meltdown has not changed their views on digital assets. He said they continue to believe that “fiat-backed digital currencies running on public blockchains,” a reference to stablecoins, have the potential to play an important role in the payments ecosystem.
“This is the time to build! Anyone building at the intersection of crypto and payments, please get in touch,” he added.
The statements come shortly after a Reuters report claimed that both Visa and Mastercard have decided to push back the launch of their crypto-related products and services due to uncertain market conditions. Sheffield marked the report as “inaccurate.”
Visa and Mastercard had big plans for crypto
Both Visa and Mastercard have aggressively pursued opportunities in the crypto space in recent years. The duo had big plans for crypto, touting it as the next big thing in finance and payments.
Earlier this year, Visa announced it was seeking to build “muscle memory” around settlements, with plans to allow customers to convert digital assets into fiat currencies on the platform.
In mid-February, the company announced a partnership with Wirex, a leading crypto payment platform, which will allow Wirex to issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards to over 40 countries.
“Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies to our network of banks and merchants,” Matt Wood, Visa’s head of digital partnerships in Asia, said in a press release announcing the partnership.
Similarly, Mastercard recently announced a partnership with Web3 payment protocol Immersve to allow users to make crypto payments across the digital, physical and metaverse worlds. The company planned to use decentralized protocols to settle real-time cryptocurrency transactions at retail locations that accept Mastercard payments.
As reported last October, Mastercard said cryptoassets have the potential to transform the financial infrastructure and outlined five key areas that could help “make cryptocurrencies an everyday way to pay.”
At the time, Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Asset and Blockchain Products & Digital Partnerships at Mastercard, said that “soon one day” we would be able to use cryptocurrencies as seamlessly as contactless card payments.
