VISA Says Its Crypto-Linked Cards Registered $1 Billion In Total Spending In H1 2021
On Wednesday, July 7, payments giant VISA said that its customers spent a staggering $1 billion on its crypto-linked cards against the purchases of goods and services in the first half of the business year. In comparison, the VISA customers spent only a fraction of the amount during the same period last year.
Commenting on this massive surge in crypto-linked card spending, VISA said “it’s clear that the crypto community sees value in linking digital currencies to Visa’s global network.”
The company said it will keep up with the development and adoption of the cryptocurrency ecosystem as part of its business. VISA announced that it has joined hands with 50 major companies from the crypto industry. Besides, it is working with different crypto card programs to enable digital currency spends at 70 million locations worldwide.
Speaking of this development, Vasant Prabhu the CFO of VISA told CNBC: “We are doing a lot to create an ecosystem that makes cryptocurrency more usable and more like any other currency. People are exploring ways in which they can use cryptocurrencies for things they would use normal currencies for.” He further said, “There are lots of issues in terms of volatility, etc. But that’s up to the owners of cryptocurrencies to manage and track.”
Furthermore, VISA notes that stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies like the USD have started “to live up the promise of digital fiat”. VISA said that it will be extending its support in the use of stablecoins as the payments giant believes that they will be leading the broader digital transformation of financial services.
Visa wrote, “We’ve been busy at Visa, connecting the crypto economy to our ‘network-of-networks,’ a strategy designed to add value to all forms of money movement, whether on the Visa network or beyond.”
Unlike other corporates like Tesla and MicroStrategy, VISA is not keen on adding cryptocurrencies to its balance sheet. Prabhu said:
“We don’t hold cryptocurrencies on our balance sheet today. We hold currencies on our balance sheet that we need to run our business. We hold currencies that we get paid in or we pay people in. That tends to be the dollar, euro, and pound. So we don’t have plans to hold cryptocurrency because it’s not typically the way we get paid or the way we pay people,” he said.
Visa also affirmed Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX cryptocurrency platform would be added to its Fintech Fast Track Program, mainly concentrating on making cryptocurrency more realistic for consumer and business spending.
This is in line with Visa’s more comprehensive recognition of digital currencies. Exactly four months ago, the company declared it will permit the usage of the USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network.