More than $1 billion was spent by Visa users on products and services through cryptocurrency-linked cards globally in the first six months of the year, the company said on Wednesday.
The global payments technology business also said it is joining forces with more than 50 cryptocurrency companies to let users frictionlessly convert and spend their digital currencies through its card programmes.
Visa's strategy to support digital currencies is simply to serve as a bridge between the crypto ecosystem and our global network of 70 million merchants
Akshay Chopra,
head of innovation and design at Visa for CEMEA
This agreement will give cryptocurrency holders with Visa cards the ability to spend at nearly 70 million merchants globally, even at those that do not accept digital currencies.
“Visa's strategy to support digital currencies is simply to serve as a bridge between the crypto ecosystem and our global network of 70 million merchants and 10,000 financial institutions,” Akshay Chopra, vice president and head of innovation and design at Visa for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa told The National.
“We just crossed the $1bn mark in spend on various crypto-linked programmes ... of course, that is only a small fraction of the total Visa card spend … but considering these programmes didn't exist in any significant way a year ago, it is an indication that they are slowly gaining traction.”
Some of Visa's partners in the cryptocurrency market include Circle, BlockFi and Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange that floated on the Nasdaq market in April. These agreements help Visa card holders spend from their cryptocurrency wallets at various merchants.
Visa is also working closely with various central banks to help them think through many considerations on how Central Bank Digital Currencies should be designed and how they could be integrated into the existing payment ecosystem.
“Cryptocurrencies have started to look like an evolution of money ... we want to ensure that our processes, products and solutions keep up with this evolution so that these new forms of money can be used in a safe, secure and reliable manner,” said Cuy Sheffield, vice president and head of crypto at Visa.
“Crypto is not just one thing, it is a general-purpose technology … that is leading to new innovations such as Bitcoins, Stablecoins, NFTs [non-fungible tokens] and CBDCs.”
Stablecoins allow users to convert their dollars into crypto dollars which can then be transferred easily to someone else’s crypto wallet. They make public blockchains useful as payment networks.
NFTs – a method of owning digital assets recorded on the blockchain – are evolving to become an innovative tool for digital media.
Rival payments company Mastercard is also reportedly planning to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year. It already allows its customers to carry out cryptocurrency transactions, but outside the company’s formal network.
Visa said it had no plans to add any cryptocurrency to its own balance sheet, as companies such as Tesla have done this year.
“We don’t hold cryptocurrencies on our balance sheet today. We hold currencies on our balance sheet that we need to run our business,” Visa’s chief financial officer Vasant Prabhu told CNBC on Wednesday.
“We hold currencies that we get paid in or we pay people in. That tends to be the dollar, euro, pound. So we don’t have plans to hold cryptocurrency because it’s not typically the way we get paid or the way we pay people.”
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Mountain%20Boy
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
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Price: From Dh126,000
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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