Visa expands crypto footprint to bring cryptocurrency services to traditional banks in Brazil

This article is from Finbold, original author: Jordan Major

Odaily Planet Daily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Visa, the world’s largest payment network, said it is working to introduce cryptocurrency services into Brazil’s traditional banking system in the near future, Seu Dinheiro reported.

Company executives said they are working with a number of cryptocurrency businesses in Brazil to bring crypto payment cards to market, and hinted that Bitcoin payments will be directly integrated in the future.

In order to connect traditional banks with crypto products, Visa Brazil’s vice president of new business Eduardo Abreu said the company is developing an application (API). Therefore, the banking platform may be used to invest directly in cryptocurrencies and ETFs without the need for intermediaries.

Visa Plans to Create Crypto Card in Brazil

In addition, Visa revealed that it is working with a number of national companies to create cryptocurrency cards. These include Zro Bank, Alterbank and Rippio, which allow users to link their accounts to these services through their bank accounts. The Visa executive did not give a timeline for when these changes are expected to occur.

Visa is also developing a B2B blockchain that will allow businesses to settle payments using smart contracts. Suppliers will be able to verify payments and deposits using the system, which could increase transparency.

According to Abreu, the system has already started a testing phase with some of their customers and the company will announce further progress in the future.

In addition, Visa said it will soon begin testing direct Bitcoin payments in Brazil. In other words, transactions will enable Bitcoin to be sent directly to other accounts. Unlike traditional crypto cards, which require intermediaries to convert Bitcoin into fiat currency, this system will eliminate the need for intermediaries.

To show that the adoption of Visa crypto cards is expanding and to help simplify crypto payments in Australia, Visa has approved a startup called CryptoExpense to use physical debit cards for crypto payments. In fact, Visa announced in early July that in the first half of 2021, Visa cryptocurrency-related card spending activity reached $1 billion, but it was not entirely made up of consumers spending cryptocurrencies. Some transactions are linked to fiat accounts but generate crypto rewards; some are indeed crypto transactions. But Visa did not provide a breakdown.

Growing Crypto Adoption in Brazil

Overall, Visa’s move is intended to bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and the existing banking system in a country where crypto adoption is growing. Abreu noted that the company has a cryptocurrency-based cashback program, which he believes could be an excellent selling point for traditional banks in terms of customer relations. He said:

“Brazilians already have a culture of accepting points, miles, discounts, etc. Why not consider accepting cryptocurrencies through credit cards as well?”

At the same time, Abreu said that Brazil is also carrying out NFT projects. Visa announced in August that it had purchased CryptoPunk 7610, one of 3,840 female Punks, for approximately $150,000. Cuy Sheffield, head of cryptocurrency at Visa, said: "CryptoPunks will be a great addition to our collections, depicting and celebrating the past, present and future of business." It is reported that Visa cooperated with Anchorage Digital to purchase the CryptoPunk. Anchorage facilitated the transaction and hosted the NFT for Visa. To this end, Visa also released a white paper on NFT to help companies understand how to integrate NFT into their platforms and how Visa can help.

In fact, Brazil is seeing increasing adoption when it comes to cryptocurrencies. In July, a few months after authorizing the launch of a Bitcoin ETF, the Brazilian Securities Regulatory Authority (CVM) approved a new cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will track the performance of Ethereum. QR Asset Management announced the approval of the Ethereum ETF, QETH11, to be listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange B3. This also makes it the first exchange in Latin America to list a 100% Ethereum ETF.