For some reason, a lot of financial players are slow to adapt to these new challenges and changes. Visa Europe has noted an increase in mobile and contactless payments, as they combined for over US$3bn in the previous twelve months. Visa wants to be at the center of the mobile ecosystem going forward, which means they will focus on new technologies and payment options.
It is interesting to note Visa Europe acknowledges digital payments is the logical evolution of transferring value. Contactless payments were the first iteration of new payment types, followed by mobile and cloud-based solutions. At the same time, it’s hard to provide adequate security solutions for these new payments.
Transitioning from traditional payments to their mobile counterparts is quite a challenge, even for Visa Europe. Blockchain technology is of particular interest to this institution, similar to how a lot of banks are keen on distributed ledgers as well. It is important to keep in mind Visa Europe would not use an open blockchain, such as Bitcoin, but rather private and permissioned solutions. It is not surprising they are more interested in blockchain than Bitcoin.
http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/07/02/visa-europe-blockchain-bitcoin/
