International payment firm Visa Inc’s CEO Alfred Kelly has revealed his firm’s plans to enable cryptocurrencies trading on its network. Kelly, who is also chairman of the firm, explains that there is no reason not to add cryptos when these are increasingly becoming “a recognized means of exchange.” In an earnings call with analysts, Visa CEO opines that due to the firm’s “global presence, its partnership approach as well as its trusted brand,” the fintech giant is “uniquely positioned to help make cryptocurrencies safer.”
“Visa also wants to make cryptos more useful and applicable for payments.”
The payment firm’s CEO also added that Visa wants to make cryptos “more useful and applicable for payments.” However, in order to achieve this, Kelly says his organization will divide the crypto market into two segments, namely cryptocurrencies and digital currencies. Describing the assets that will be included in the cryptocurrency segment, the CEO says these will be viewed “as digital gold.” According to Kelly, such currencies are “predominantly held as assets that are not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point.”
Visa would work with wallets and exchanges to enable users to purchase crypto with Visa credentials.
The chairman of the payment firm added, “our strategy here is to work with wallets and exchanges to enable users to purchase these currencies using their Visa credentials or to cash out onto a Visa credential to make a fiat purchase at any of the 70 million merchants where Visa’s accepted globally.” According to Kelly, this strategy will be similar to Visa’s approach to “connect closed-loop wallets such as Line Pay and Paytm.” Concerning cryptocurrencies that will feature in the second segment, Kelly noted that they would consist of “fiat-backed digital currencies including stablecoins and central bank digital currencies.”
