- Visa and Crypto.com have collaborated on a pilot that will see real world tests of crypto payments
- USDC holders will be able to pay at Visa-accepting merchants on their Crypto.com cards without prior conversion
- Visa will collect the USDC thanks to a separate deal with Anchorage
Visa has made good on its claims to be looking at cryptocurrency integration by announcing Monday that it will allow the use of the USDC stablecoin on its payment network. The pilot program, launched in conjunction with payment platform Crypto.com, will open to other partners later this year if the trial proves successful and will allow cryptocurrency transactions without the need to convert to fiat currency first.
We’re excited to share news of a historic moment:https://t.co/vCNztABJoG & @Visa successfully conducted the first settlement of transactions using USDC!
A huge milestone for the industry as crypto and fiat networks begin to converge.https://t.co/v70qC8n4Yy
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) March 29, 2021
Visa Pilot the First of its Kind
Reuters broke the story on Monday, quoting Visa’s Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield as saying, “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers.”
Crucially, Visa’s system will streamline the traditional crypto debit card transaction route, which requires users to first convert their cryptocurrency of choice into the local fiat currency first. Thanks to a partnership with digital asset bank Anchorage, Crypto.com users who hold USDC in their account will be able to pay at Visa-accepting terminals without first having to convert, with the USDC tokens remaining on the Ethereum blockchain through the entire process and ending up in Visa’s anchorage USDC account.
Huge Step Forward in Crypto Adoption
This partnership represents a huge step in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and allows holders to move one step closer to the holy grail of being able to use cryptocurrencies as readily as fiat currencies, which is one of the major stumbling blocks preventing mainstream adoption. Visa CEO Al Kelly spoke just last week about how the company was taking steps to incorporate Bitcoin into its payment platform, so the news that it has moved to accept USDC is a sign that things are certainly progressing.
