invezz.com
Visa, a leading payments platform, has announced plans to launch consultancy and advisory services. These services will allow the firm’s clients to venture into the crypto sector.
Visa’s crypto advisory services will be offered under the firm’s consulting and analytics division. These services will advise retaining and institutional investors regarding cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens.
Visa to launch a crypto consultancy division
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According to the announcement, Visa hopes that the crypto consultancy division will boost the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and other cryptocurrencies. Visa is joining its greatest competitor, Mastercard, in expanding its crypto services due to increased demand.
Visa’s crypto consultancy division is already seeing adoption from some financial institutions that have partnered with the payments firm. UMVB, an American bank, is already a client.
Leading payments networks have been facing a high level of competition from new financial firms specialising in crypto services. Emerging trends such as cryptocurrencies have forced these firms to change their business models.
The launch of the crypto advisory firm comes as Visa stated that 94% of people have some level of crypto awareness. The firm also notes that a third of people have used cryptocurrencies for payments or as a medium of exchange. The Visa survey was conducted on more than 6000 respondents globally.
Visa pushing its crypto agenda
The launch of the advisory division is the latest plan by Visa to venture deeper into the crypto sector. The firm’s financials show that between October 2020 and September 2021, the payments firm processed $3.5B worth of digital currency transactions.
Nikola Plecas, the lead of Visa’s European crypto, stated that “some of these leading exchanges have millions or, in some instances, tens of millions of users.” Plecas stated that the firm had now opened a feature that will allow clients to spend their cryptocurrencies at more than 80 million merchants.
Besides launching crypto services, Visa is also working on other initiatives such as stablecoins. The payments firm is also looking towards central bank digital currencies, giving it a competitive edge once these initiatives are realised. Plecas noted that cryptocurrencies were a major growth opportunity for the firm.