Visa displays the banners of privacy, consumer protection, and regulation. The multinational company believes that cryptocurrencies will play a role in the future of money.
The payment processing multinational company Visa unveiled on July 22nd the pillars that will support its strategy oriented towards Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies in general. The company released its perspectives on new digital currency payment flows and their potential for financial inclusion.
In the document titled “Advancing our approach to digital currency”, Visa presents seven points that reveal how it will adopt the business model with Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. The company believes that the most important values are: security, privacy, integrity, and trust.
On these four aspects, Visa stated that they will maintain a rigorous focus on data protection, privacy and consumer equity, and full compliance with all applicable laws.
The company also says that it will remain “agnostic” regarding cryptocurrencies and the blockchain networks on which they operate. In other words, Visa will stay open and support projects, based on demand from its customers and partners. However, it will not be officially linked with any of them nor will it promote a particular project.
This leads to the conclusion that Visa could support both financially oriented projects, such as Bitcoin, and proposals that lean towards the world of decentralized applications, such as the Ethereum network. The rest of the altcoins would also receive the go-ahead, as long as there is a demand that justifies their inclusion.
In the seventh point, Visa talks about establishing an “alignment with the company’s core capabilities”. This means that they will continue projects that allow them to apply their experience in new technologies and types of networks for the benefit of their users and partners.
Visa believes that digital currencies have the potential to extend the value of digital payments to a greater number of people and places. In this sense, they say that they want to help shape and support the role that they will play in the future of money.
In presenting its perspectives, Visa uses a graph of what its interaction with cryptocurrencies would be like. It is a kind of operational roadmap in which their platform would connect to wallets, exchanges, commercial establishments, and regulatory agencies.
With the disclosure of its strategy, Visa is preparing a further foray into the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Besides, the company admits that they are looking more closely at so-called stablecoins as a “promising payment innovation.”
The company has been gradually relating to cryptocurrencies, establishing partnerships with various actors who make life in the Bitcoin world. In July 2019, Visa led a USD 40 million investment in the company Anchorage, a startup that safeguards cryptocurrency investments for institutional investors.
In April 2020, Visa joined Bitcoin-focused Company Fold to launch a debit card that provides users with a Bitcoin rewards program. They say that the card would be available to the US market from July.
By Alexander Salazar
