visa Archives - The Block

Visa and Mastercard delay new crypto partnerships

Visa and Mastercard, the United States’ two largest payment processors, have delayed the launch of new crypto partnerships as bankruptcies and increased regulatory scrutiny continue to affect the industry.

The move, first reported by Reuters, comes after a period of improved cooperation between traditional payment firms and crypto companies.

Both Visa and Mastercard have been exploring using stablecoins like USD Coin for payments and transaction settlements in recent...

1 March 2023 | Banking

Visa will ‘actively contribute’ to web3 development

Visa refuses to become a dinosaur and will “actively contribute” to developing the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Aside from maximalists, few experts believe that crypto poses an existential threat to fiat currencies. Legacy payment processors like Visa and Mastercard have increasingly been joining the web2-era disruptors like PayPal and Square in supporting the web3 and crypto ecosystem.

Greater public adoption of “crypto” will likely come through CBDCs (Central...

20 December 2022 | Altcoins

ZELF launches anonymous Visa debit card with crypto top up

US fintech firm ZELF has launched an anonymous Visa debit card which can be funded through crypto or traditional electronic payments.

To open an account, all users need is a name, email, and phone number before they can use the card at any of Visa’s 80 million payment locations worldwide.

Accounts can be funded through crypto payments, with current support for three tokens (USD Coin, Tether, and Ether). ZELF has said they plan to add support for 20 more popular tokens...

12 December 2022 | Blockchain Applications

Bitcoin processes $187bn more in transactions per quarter than PayPal

The Bitcoin (BTC) network is now processing more volume in terms of transactions than payments platform PayPal, according to blockchain analysis firm Blockdata.

Looking at average transaction volumes, Blockdata says that the Bitcoin network outshone PayPal by $187 billion (£140.4bn) per quarter this year. An impressive overtake for a payments system twelve years younger than PayPal.

Blockdata reported that: “The Bitcoin network processed an estimated average of $489...

1 December 2021 | Banking

Visa partners with neobank First Boulevard for new crypto API initiative

Visa has chosen First Boulevard, a neobank with a focus on financially empowering the Black American community, as a partner for its new crypto API program anticipated to launch later this year.

First Boulevard will be the first to pilot Visa’s suite of crypto APIs which will allow the neobank’s customers to purchase, hold, and trade digital assets held by Anchorage, a federally chartered digital asset bank.

For Visa, this marks an important step in expanding the...