Banks part of Visa network will now be able to offer Bitcoin services

After Visa’s Al Kelly stated that the payment giant could add cryptocurrencies to their payments network, Visa now intends to help banks offer Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency buying and trading services. Later this year, the company plans to launch a Visa API program that will make crypto integrations possible. 

According to reports, a Kansas-based, Black Americans-focused digital bank, First Boulevard, will pilot the APIs, which will allow bank clients of Visa to integrate digital assets. 

To date, Visa has partnered with 35 various crypto platforms, which include Crypto.com, BlockFi, Fold and BitPanda, among others. 

Last month, Anchorage, crypto custodian became the first national “digital asset bank” in US, after OCC granted it approval for a national trust charter. This would allow Anchorage to hold Bitcoin and digital assets on behalf of Visa’s clients.

In Visa’s fiscal Q1 2021 earnings call, the chief exec referred to Bitcoin as “digital gold.” Al Kelly also said that cryptocurrencies that represent new assets such as BTC are “not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point.” 

He further revealed that Visa’s strategy is to work with wallets and exchanges, especially to enable users to purchase cryptocurrencies using their Visa credentials. They intend to allow users to cash out on Visa credentials to make a fiat purchase at “any of the 70 million merchants where Visa is accepted globally.”

Kelly stated that “wallet relationships” represented the potential for more than 50 million Visa credentials. The chief also believed that fiat-backed stablecoins and CBDCs have the potential to be used for “global commerce.”