Visa reportedly aims to integrate Bitcoin payments in Brazil

[Fortify]

Let's take a look at the latest development in Seu Dinheiro by payment giant visa, disclosed that it has start accepting crypto for it's payment especially the most commonly and acceptable crypto (Bitcoin) and to be used also as a store of assets, isn't it going to be too late for new investors and partnerships who would have join the emerging trend with crypto than later in future?

In a recent interview with Brazilian news outlet Seu Dinheiro, Eduardo Abreu, vice president of new business at payments giant Visa, revealed the comany’s intentions to integrate crypto assets onto its platform for both payments and as a store of value, including the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC).

Back in March 2021, Visa’s CEO of Brazil, Fernando Teles, introduced the concept of adopting tokenized payments, as well as an application programming interface, or API, designed to bridge the gap between traditional financial institutions and crypto services.

In the interview, Abreu shared his belief that greater adoption will require the integration of traditional banking activity within the cryptocurrency ecosystem so that customers can transact with fiat and crypto within the same environment.

Visa already offers 180 currencies on its platform and will look to leverage its 170 million global customer base and established fintech relationships with national banks Alterbank, Ripio and Zro in maximizing adoption in the region.

There was no specific announcement as to the date of the launch, but it is widely expected in the coming months.

“The great advantage of adopting Bitcoin is, without a doubt, its ease. Without needing to exchange a fiat currency, there is an optimization of exchanges when using Bitcoin,” said Abreu.

Alongside this service, Abreu also suggested the possibility of customers receiving cashback in crypto:

“Brazilians already have the culture of receiving card points, miles, discounts, etc. Why not receive cryptocurrencies with their credit card as well?”
Visa is no stranger to making headlines in the cryptocurrency space.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/visa-reportedly-aims-to-integrate-bitcoin-payments-in-brazil/amp

It's to be expected really and shows that these credit card companies want to get ahead of the game. Essentially cryptocurrency is a direct competitor to their services, so it makes sense for them to capture as much of the transaction activity as possible. Paypal were the first movers in this respect, they want people to buy cryptocurrency through their platform - so they can keep all the payment transactions in-house while still charging a transaction fee to move it between accounts. It also allows them to build up long term control over Bitcoin because all their users will have the currency stored in wallets under Paypal's absolute control. It looks like Visa just woke up to that fact and wants it's slice of the pie.

[tyz]

Visa is looking positive to such collaboration and this is an advantage to the Brazilian economy. Few months back when PayPal announced the inclusion of four cryptocurrency including bitcoin and etheruem also visa tried coming up with some kind of leverage with bitcoin , now this partnership is a step that will further increase the market cap for visa .

I wonder why Visa supports Bitcoin. There was an interesting article on Bloomberg a few days ago about how Western Union could lose up to 400 million in revenue, just from El Salvador, if future money will no longer be transferred from abroad to El Salvador via WU. Visa or Mastercard are not as affected by this, but fundamentally Bitcoin is gnawing away at the business model of these providers. The question is, is this a flight to the future or do they have other plans/intentions.

[pinggoki]

It seems that larger banking institutions that discover the harsh truth of bitcoin always being superior to fiat made Visa cower and give in. Well honestly this is a good move not only for the people who invest in cryptocurrencies but for banking institutions as well. This could give them an avenue to earn more money basically but something that wouldn't allow them to exploit the common people, which is of course bitcoin.

Brazilians already have a culture of receiving card points, miles, discounts. And accept cryptocurrency with their credit card too.
Visa is no stranger to making headlines in the cryptocurrency space. In an attempt to portray its pioneering status as an intermediary for traditional and modern financial culture, Visa last month purchased its CryptoPunk NFT avatar for 50 ETH ($150,000 at the time of sale).

So basically what's happening right here is the fact that they are hoping to create a difference in the banking world by being one of the institutions who are much more friendly towards cryptocurrencies, compared to their peers who interact with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies with tooth-and-nail. As you have mentioned, the fact that Brazil has a history of alternative modes of payment, this will work well in their favor altogether.

[paxmao]

I agree with Hydrogen, the new alt-right has a libertarian component built in and it would not be strange to see crypto friendly legislation and initiatives. Previous projects trying to integrate cryptopayments have failed mainly because VISA and other, by means of their partners have pretty much stopped in its tracks anything that did not have a very clear KYC and anti-laundering. Let's see how this goes in Brazil.