Global: Visa Records Over $2B in Transactions for Crypto-linked Cards in 2022 Q1

Pro-crypto international payment firm Visa, in its recent earnings call, revealed that users of its platform carried out around $2.5 billion worth of transactions using their crypto-linked cards. 

This figure is already over 70% higher than all of the transactions carried out using crypto cards in fiscal 2021 —an indication of the level of adoption the digital asset industry has seen this year.

According to the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Vasant Prabhu, Visa has seen an increased transaction volume in crypto despite the volatile nature of the market.

Earlier this year, major digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum saw their values plummet to new lows as the market suffered a wide correction due to the Federal Reserve’s revelation of its new hawkish stance.

Prabhu continued that “this signals that consumers see the utility in having a Visa card linked to an account at a crypto platform.” In the interview with CNBC, he also mentioned the ease of funding and managing purchases with the card.

Crypto-linked cards are becoming quite popular in the space. These cards allow holders to spend crypto anywhere that Visa is accepted. Merchants receive the transactions in fiat like regular card transactions, with the processor handling the conversion.

Crypto transactions still on the rise

The adoption of Visa crypto-linked cards has grown consistently with time, as evident in the value of transactions. Within the first six months of 2021, Visa reported $1 billion worth of transactions with the cards. This was even more than the numbers it had recorded in 2019.

With the record spending in the first fiscal quarter of 2022, it’s clear that more people now see crypto assets as a viable payment option.

The CFO noted that “People are using their crypto-linked cards to spend in a variety of ways. They’re increasingly being treated like a general-purpose account.”

Apart from its increased transaction volume, Visa also revealed that it had increased the number of crypto firms it is partnering with to facilitate the services. Previously, the firm had around 54 companies using its services, but it has now increased that number to over 65.

Notably, Visa isn’t only facilitating crypto payments. The firm has spread its tentacles to other crypto niches like consultation and the burgeoning NFT space.

However, despite all of these pro-crypto moves, it currently has no plans to hold any cryptocurrency on its balance sheet.