Credit card and Payments giant, Visa is launching a pilot program that would allow its partners to settle fiat transactions on the Ethereum Blockchain . The new program is the result of a collaboration with Crypto.com.
Through the new program, the credit card issuer's partners will have the ability to exchange USD Coin (USDC) through its payments network. Crypto.com will send USDC to Visa’s Ethereum address as a way of settling some of the transactions that have been sent through Crypto.com’s Visa card program. To facilitate this process, Visa’s treasury will be linked with Anchorage, a federally-chartered crypto bank.
”Billions of Dollars in Fiat” Are Used to Clear and Settle Transactions on the Visa Network
Visa is seeking to make the system available to Fintech companies and neobanks that deal in cryptocurrency in particular, in USDC, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to CoinTelegraph, the company "reports [that] ‘billions of dollars’ in fiat are involved in clearing and settling transactions daily.” The use of the Ethereum blockchain could potentially cut down on some of these costs.
Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product Officer, said in an announcement that: “crypto-native fintechs want partners who understand their business and the complexities of digital currency form factors.”
“The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency.”
Crypto.com & Visa Announced Their Partnership Earlier This Month
The announcement of the pilot program follows Visa’s announcement that it would be partnering with Crypto.com earlier this month. Through the partnership, Crypto.com is expanding the availability of its cryptocurrency debit card.
When the partnership was launched, Crypto.com said that it would be offering a fiat lending program that would allow cardholders to use their crypto holdings as collateral for fiat loans. These funds can be spent on merchant platforms that support Visa payments.
