Visa is testing the capability with Crypto.com, a Visa partner and one of the world's largest crypto platforms, and plans to offer the USDC settlement capability to other partners later this year.
Cryptocurrencies as a payment method at Visa
Support for digital currencies as a new type of settlement currency marks an important step forward for Visa's network of network strategy, designed to enhance all forms of money movement, both on and off the Visa network. By leveraging its global presence, partnership approach, and trusted brand, Visa aims to add differentiated value to the ecosystem and make cryptocurrencies safer, more useful, and better applicable for payments.
Over the past year, Visa has been working to establish a path for settling digital currencies within Visa's existing treasury infrastructure, a platform that moves billions of dollars daily across thousands of institutions in over 200 markets and 160 currencies. In collaboration with Anchorage, the first federally chartered digital asset bank and an exclusive Visa partner for digital currency settlement, Visa has launched a pilot that allows Crypto.com to send USDC to Visa to settle a portion of its obligations for the Crypto.com Visa card program.
Support for new digital currencies
Visa's standard settlement process requires partners to settle in a traditional fiat currency, which can increase costs and complexity for businesses built with digital currencies. The ability to settle in USDC could ultimately help Crypto.com and other crypto-native companies evaluate fundamentally new business models without the need for traditional fiat in their treasury and settlement workflows. The treasury upgrades and Visa's integration with Anchorage also enhance Visa's ability to directly support new central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as they emerge in the future.
"Crypto-native fintechs want partners who understand their business and the complexity of the form factors of digital currencies," said Jack Forestell, executive vice president and chief product officer of Visa. "Today's announcement marks an important milestone in our ability to meet the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency, and it truly extends what we do every day, enabling secure payments in all different currencies around the world."
Collaboration between Anchorage, Crypto.com, and Visa
Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com said: ''We have seen record growth in our business and the broader crypto ecosystem over the past year. To further accelerate the world's transition to cryptocurrency, we need partners who understand the capabilities and tools that will help us go to market faster and more efficiently. We have been a Visa partner for several years and are excited to deepen that relationship through our global agreement and to pioneer an exciting world first in stablecoin payments.''
"Anchorage's platform is purpose-built for institutions like Visa to build new products in crypto. We have been with Visa every step of the way since 2019 and are very excited to see these first stablecoin payment rails come to life through Anchorage APIs," said Diogo Mónica, co-founder and president of Anchorage.
David Puth, CEO of Centre, which oversees the licensing of USDC, said: "Visa is leading the market with its innovative approach to payments in many forms. We are very impressed with their efforts. Having USDC on the Visa network is an excellent next step in our mission to connect the world with stablecoins built on Center standards, starting with USDC."
Visit the Visa blog for more information about today's news and the settlement process at Visa.
