Visa to enable conversion of digital assets into traditional currencies
Visa has been experimenting with accepting settlement payments in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain and paying out in USDC on Ethereum
Image: Shutterstock
The payment company Visa aims to establish a familiar process for settlements by enabling customers to convert digital assets into traditional currencies on its platform. This information was shared by Cuy Sheffield, the head of Visa's crypto division, during a presentation at the StarkWare Sessions 2023.
According to Sheffield, the company has been experimenting with accepting settlement payments in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain and paying out in USDC on Ethereum. These payments are for large-value settlements.
Sheffield stated that the company is investing in global settlements using digital assets and fiat currencies. He explained that they want to create a familiar process, similar to converting between dollars and euros in cross-border transactions, for converting between tokenised digital dollars and traditional dollars.
Visa is investigating how to incorporate blockchain technology into its existing infrastructure to speed up money transfers. However, at present, settlements are still conducted through the SWIFT system, which is a cooperative society established by European bankers to provide secure and standardised communication for transactions between its members.
Sheffield explained that their current system operates over SWIFT, which limits the frequency of money transfers. As a result, the company has been conducting experiments, including accepting settlement payments using stablecoins, to address these limitations.
