Jan 25
Payment giants are embracing crypto
We all know that the payments industry is dominated by two companies — Visa and Mastercard. The two largest card networks in the world, they are both globally accepted and can be used to make transactions in almost any context.
Since last year, both companies have been eyeing and strategizing the role of cryptocurrencies, with some big partnerships already in motion.
In October, Mastercard partnered with Paxos for crypto trading, and had previously partnered with Nexo to launch a crypto-backed payment card. They’ve also signed deals with Coinbase, Gemini, BitPay, and many others.
Visa has also been very active in the space, with Blockchain.com partnering with Visa to launch a crypto card, as has Crypto.com. Visa also signed a partnership with FTX to offer debit cards in 40 countries, before terminating the partnership in November, in the midst of the FTX meltdown.
Given previous concerns and caution from both giants, it is worth taking a look at why their stance is changing as they begin to embrace crypto.
Crypto as a threat
Let’s break it down as to why crypto is a veritable threat for Visa and MasterCard.
- Visa and Mastercard charge retailers a fee for the use of their network, which retailers use to collect payments.
- For retailers, there are tons of problems that they have to deal with. Credit card payments take a long time to reach merchants, with card companies and banks taking as much as up to 3% in transaction fees.
- Not ideal for retailers, as transaction fees cut into profits and long settlement times equates to locked up money.
- With the rise of crypto and fintech, a lot of these issues can be resolved.
This is where the threat comes in.
Cryptocurrencies can offer much faster settlement times, and lower transaction fees as well — both pain points that retailers are dealing with. A cryptocurrency like Ethereum can have settlement times as low as 16 seconds, and transaction fees for Bitcoin can be as low as US$1.60.
Crypto payments companies are also building infrastructure to enable crypto payments for merchants and encouraging the use of crypto payments. As such, payments in crypto have been on the rise over the last 10 years.
What it all means
With the rise of crypto payments threatening to displace Visa and Mastercard, they are left with no option but to take action, otherwise risking to eventually conceding a large portion of their power.
When looking at tit from this perspective, the partnerships that they are making seem to be pertinent and necessary. Instead of fighting the crypto payments space, they are expanding their reach, and trying to become the middleman for crypto payments.
If crypto payments continue to use the Visa and Mastercard network, the crypto payments industry will become a far smaller threat. Instead of allowing crypto companies to overtake them, the payments duopoly is co-opting the nascent industry to maintain their preeminent position within the payments industry.
Stay tuned for the Fiat24 Visa Card
Having said all this, coming soon — Fiat24 will be providing all qualified clients with access to a debit card for easy crypto spending. Whether you prefer a digital card, or a physical card to carry in your wallet, both will soon be available!
As always, stay connected to Fiat24!
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