Visa announced the launch of its Global Crypto Advisory Practice, a new service within its Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) business that will advise clients on all aspects of crypto investment and adoption
The digital payment company noted recent research found 94% of global "financial decision-makers" are currently considering crypto-based products or investments. This includes NFTs[1], digital currencies, and other cryptographic ecosystems. Visa plans to offer guidance on adopting crypto strategies and launching crypto-focused products like blockchain-based rewards programs and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) consumer wallets.
Carl Rutstein, Global Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics said the firm saw a "material shift in our clients' mindset in the last year, from a desire to explore and experiment with crypto, to actually building a strategy and product roadmap." This led to the creation of a more comprehensive study[2] in which Visa found that nearly one-third of its respondents had already engaged with crypto products in some way, with 40% of those that already owned cryptocurrency saying they would like to switch their banking needs to an institution that offered crypto-related products[3] within a year.
Other notable findings within the study included a higher rate of crypto use in emerging markets (37% versus 29% in developed countries); 42% of respondents defining cryptocurrency as the finance tech of the "the future"; and 84% of respondents noting their interest in credit cards that offer crypto-based rewards.
Despite the growing focus on crypto technology and services, general reticence about buying in too deeply remains. Only 18% of all participants said they would actually switch to a primary bank for its offering of cryptocurrency services in the next 12 months. While this figure did jump to the aforementioned 40% for those that already own cryptocurrency, the