Key Takeaways:
- Visa announces the launch of new crypto consulting service for its clients and partners through its Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) division.
- Per Reuters, American financial services company UMB is Visa’s crypto advisory services client.
The world’s largest card company has just increased its stake in the cryptocurrency market. Visa announced the launch of a crypto advisory practice for its clients and partners through its Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) division. Visa is launching new consulting and advisory services to assist its clients in navigating the world of cryptocurrencies.
Today, the firm announced that its crypto advisory practice, housed within its consulting and analytics division, will advise financial institutions, retailers, and other firms on topics ranging from implementing crypto features and investigating nonfungible tokens to developing wallets for central bank digital currencies.
According to Visa, part of banks’ interest in cryptocurrencies is remaining competitive. Citing a recent in-house study, Visa said that,
“40% of crypto owners surveyed report they would be likely or very likely to switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products in the next 12 months.”
Carl Rutstein, Global Head, Visa Consulting & Analytics, said that,
“We’ve seen a material shift in our clients’ mindset in the last year, from a desire to explore and experiment with crypto to actually building a strategy and product roadmap.”
Today, Visa engages with clients and partners in every region, including the U.S., where Visa’s team is working with UMB Financial Corporation.
Per Reuters, American financial services company UMB is Visa’s crypto advisory services client. Uma Wilson, executive vice president at UMB Bank, said that,
“We came to Visa to learn more about crypto and stablecoins and the use cases that are most relevant for our retail and commercial business lines. VCA helped us begin to explore a roadmap of a strategy from product and partner selection to cross-functional considerations such as Technology, Finance, Risk, and Compliance.”
Visa’s latest attempt to dive deeper into the cryptocurrency industry comes after the company previously filed for a slew of blockchain-related patents. Visa’s research team is also working on a project called “Universal Payment Channel,” a blockchain interoperability hub that connects multiple blockchain networks and allows digital assets to move between protocols and wallets.
Visa is one of many payment processors that have recently entered the cryptocurrency market. For example, its competitor Mastercard recently rolled out crypto-linked payment cards across Asia-Pacific. At the same time, PayPal launched a new consumer app for crypto, savings, and direct deposits earlier this year.
