Visa launches cryptocurrency consulting service

US-based Visa Inc (NYSE:V) will launch a cryptocurrency consulting service, the company said in a statement.
The new service will be part of Visa’s consulting and analytics division and will work with financial institutions, retailers and other companies to advise them on the cryptocurrency markets, including their possible use of secure transactions, as well as conducting research related to NFT.
Among the clients already using the service is U.S. bank UMB, the company noted in a statement.

The service will accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrencies

Visa hopes that its new service will accelerate the distribution and adoption of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by companies. Visa believes cryptocurrencies could be a major field for its continued growth, especially as it expands into other areas of payments beyond credit cards.

The company is already developing products that allow customers to use cryptocurrencies for payments. In March, Visa said it began settling transactions in stablecoins (stablecoin is the common name for cryptocurrencies that are backed by national currencies and assets), specifically USD Coin, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

In addition, the company in 2020 began working with digital currencies issued by the central banks of different countries.

Between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, Visa made about $3.5 billion in digital currency transactions, Nicola Plecash, lead cryptocurrency and digital currency specialist at the company’s European division, told CNBC.
“Cryptocurrency is a huge new vertical and growth opportunity for us. And we will continue to focus on growing this business,” Plecash added.
A survey conducted by Visa and marketing company LRW found that 94 percent of people have some level of awareness of cryptocurrencies, with nearly a third of them having used them as an investment or medium of exchange. A total of 6,000 people from around the world took part in the survey.