Visa has announced the launch of the Visa Global Crypto Advisory Practice,- an offering designed to help customers and partners get started on their own path in cryptocurrencies.
This occurs at a time when digital currencies are gaining greater weight in the population's consciousness - according to research released by Visa, awareness of crypto assets among surveyed financial decision-makers is almost universal, representing 94% of respondents worldwide .
For financial institutions committed to attracting or retaining customers with a
cryptoassets, retailers looking to dive into NFT, or central banks exploring cryptocurrencies, understanding the cryptocurrency ecosystem is a vital first step.
Through its work with more than 60 cryptocurrency platforms, Visa's global network of consultants and product specialists has a deep experience, which allows them to help financial institutions in evaluating the opportunity of cryptocurrencies, developing concrete strategies and conducting new experiences of use and innovation such as rewards programs through cryptocurrencies and consumer wallets integrated into CBDC.
"We've seen a shift in our clients' mindsets over the past year, from wanting to explore and experiment with cryptocurrencies, to building a strategy and road map.
products,” said Carl Rutstein, Global Head, Visa Consulting Analytics.
According to Visa, part of banks' interest in cryptocurrencies is to remain competitive. Citing a recent internal study, Visa said that “40% of surveyed cryptocurrency owners reported that they would be likely to change their primary bank to one offering cryptocurrency-related products in the next 12 months.”
Visa is one of many payment processors that has entered the cryptocurrency business in recent years. Its rival Mastercard recently launched cryptocurrency-linked payment cards across the Asia-Pacific region, while online payments giant PayPal launched a new app for its customers to use cryptocurrencies, savings and direct deposits earlier this year.
