According to Visa, the use of cryptocurrency payment cards increased in the first half of the year
2 min readVisa announced that consumers purchased goods and services worldwide through their crypto payment cards worth more than $ 1 billion in the first six months of the year. The US payment company recorded half of the current amount in the same period between 2020 and 2019. However, Visa did not publish exact figures.
The use of cryptocurrency payment cards is growing
Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu said in a post-announcement that the company is doing a lot to create an ecosystem that will make the cryptocurrency more usable and similar to any other currency. “People are exploring many ways they can use cryptocurrencies on things they otherwise use normal or fiat currencies.” However, there are a lot of risks in terms of volatility, etc. However, it is up to consumers of cryptocurrencies to manage and monitor them, “he said.
“We know about the large volume of transactions on regulated crypto exchanges on our network and, as we can see, this trend continues,” Prabhu added. However, the CFO noted that Visa has no short-term plans to add any cryptocurrencies to its balance sheet, citing Tesla, MicroStrategy, as examples of companies that have recently adopted cryptocurrencies.
Prabhu explained that the company holds in its balance sheet only the currencies they need to operate its activities, and therefore there is no reason to keep cryptocurrencies in their balance sheets. “We hold the currencies in which we receive payments or we pay people, which are the US dollar, the euro and the British pound. So we have absolutely no plans to keep cryptocurrencies, because that’s not the usual way we get payments or the way we pay people, “he said.
A recent survey by one of Visa’s direct competitors, MasterCard, found that 93% of North American consumers plan to use cryptocurrencies or other emerging payment technologies, such as biometric, contactless, or QR codes, by 2022. The study also found that 75% of millennials would use cryptocurrencies if they understood them better.
Visa also revealed that cryptocurrency cards, as well as other launches of payment technologies, including biometrics and a QR code, could disrupt $ 18 trillion in cash and checks spent annually worldwide.
MasterCard will reportedly launch a payment cards this summer with Gemini, a crypto exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins. The card will allow consumers to earn cryptocurrencies as a reward. However, cardholders will not be able to access their digital wallet on the web.
Visa also announced today that it has added to its Fintech Fast Track program an FTX cryptocurrency trading platform founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, which has decided to increase the practicality of cryptocurrencies for users.
