Visa has announced that it will allow payment settlement via cryptocurrency, bridging digital and traditional fiat currencies. The card provider has launched a pilot payment program in partnership with Crypto.com piloting the use of U.S. Dollar Coin (USDC), a coin pegged on the USD in a 1:1 ratio, to settle transactions with Visa over the Ethereum blockchain.
On the back end, the card provider is working with Anchorage, the first federally chartered digital asset bank and an exclusive Visa digital currency settlement partner to act as a custodian, sending funds from Crypto.com to Visa’s Ethereum address at Anchorage.
The pilot program overcomes additional conversion rates and complexity that businesses built with digital currencies face when settling in traditional fiat. Such “allows crypto native companies to evaluate new business models without traditional fiat in their treasury and settlement workflows.”
This means that Visa’s partners will soon be able to settle payments with the company through USDC. Visa is partnering with 35 digital currency companies, including Coinbase, Bitpanda, and BlockFi.
Speaking on the program, Jack Forestell, executive vice president and chief product officer at Visa, says,
The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency, and it’s really an extension of what we do every day, securely facilitating payments in all different currencies all across the world.
Besides allowing ease of payments in digital currencies, the pilot program is a step towards tapping into the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) as they become available, which ideally represent the future digital fiat.
Further, the move is yet another vote of confidence for Cryptocurrencies worldwide after BlackRock allowed investment in Bitcoin, and Tesla started accepting Bitcoin as payments for cars.
SEE ALSO: MasterCard Set to Allow Payment in Crypto-currencies
