Stepping up crypto efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean

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As more people and businesses continue to embrace crypto innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Visa is committed to being a key partner for businesses, governments and consumers by offering the connectivity, scale, security and value propositions needed for crypto offerings to grow and become widely accepted.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to gain momentum in the region with increased investment, more consumer adoption, and more crypto-enabled use cases, and we will continue to leverage our robust strategy to build the future of crypto and payments for our customers, partners, and consumers.

Visa’s goal is to add value to all legitimate forms of money movement how to get telegram profile link whether they originate on the Visa network or beyond. This is key to our network of networks strategy, and our work in crypto is a great example of this. We have remained focused on making Visa the easiest and most secure way to buy and/or spend cryptocurrency through a Visa card. This includes recently launched cryptocurrency card programs and partnerships with fintechs and digital currency exchange startups in the region, such as the Lemon Cash Visa prepaid card in Argentina and the partnership with Satoshi Tango, as well as Crypto.com, Alterbank, and Zro Bank cards in Brazil. Through cryptocurrency-linked credentials, consumers who exchange crypto can make purchases in local fiat currency anywhere Visa is accepted, purchase crypto assets with existing credentials, and receive cash back in Bitcoin or other digital currencies.

Beyond card-based solutions, Visa offers infrastructure capabilities, consulting services, and tools to better navigate the world of digital currencies and the emerging NFT economy. We have significantly increased the scale and scope of our work in digital currencies, securing partnerships with more than 70 of the world’s leading cryptocurrency platforms. These partners have chosen Visa to launch card programs so their customers can easily convert and spend digital currencies at 80 million merchant locations around the world.

In addition to embedding credentials into digital wallets and working with cryptocurrency platforms, Visa continues to innovate in this space through other global and regional initiatives including:

Support for stablecoin settlement: Today we transact in approximately 160 currencies and settle in 28 currencies, and we anticipate that we will be able to incorporate fiat-backed stablecoins as additional settlement currencies on our network. We are currently working with partners and are initially focusing on USDC. We see this as another important milestone in our effort to bridge the gap between traditional and digital currencies.

Consulting and Innovation Services: We are helping our clients understand cryptocurrency trends, develop a cryptocurrency strategy that meets their business needs and objectives, and research, design, and test new cryptocurrency user experiences and product innovations.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): We are collaborating with Central Banks to identify compelling use cases for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and how to bring them to life with secure, convenient, and trusted technologies that can be seamlessly integrated into the existing payments ecosystem. Visa was recently chosen as one of nine finalists in the LIFT Challenge for CBDCs in Brazil. Over the next few months, Visa will work closely with the Central Bank of Brazil in advising and guiding this public-private partnership, in which Visa researchers and engineers will work together to design a working prototype to present a Visa solution proposal for this challenge.

New NFT Creator Program: We seek to help artists, musicians, fashion designers, and filmmakers who work primarily with digital media to boost their small businesses through NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. Each cycle of the one-year program will support a select group of micro-entrepreneurs who seek to deepen their knowledge of the technology and platforms that support NFT trading.
Visa is also conducting research into consumer perceptions and usage of cryptocurrencies as digital currencies continue to gain adoption. In fact, Visa's latest study“The Crypto Phenomenon: Consumer Attitudes and Uses”found “almost universal awareness” about cryptocurrencies, with a third of respondents having used digital assets “either as an investment tool or a medium of exchange.” Increased participation is also seen in emerging markets. The study also revealed that nearly 40% of cryptocurrency owners would likely switch from their main banks to one that offers cryptocurrency products.

As consumer interest and adoption of digital currencies continues to increase globally, we aim to become the bridge that connects traditional businesses to the future of money. We are committed to being a leader in digital currency-based payments while helping both existing and new customers and financial institutions in the region take advantage of the opportunities that will enable them to benefit from and better navigate these revolutionary changes taking place in the payments industry.

Post created by Romina Seltzer, SVP Products & Innovation, Visa Latin America & the Caribbean