Visa Offers Consultancy Services for Crypto Projects and Pilots

Visa has launched a new service, the Global Crypto Advisory Practice, which is designed to help clients and partners advance their own crypto journey.

Opportunities, Strategies, and Pilots

The offering is part of the Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) division and comes at a moment when digital currencies are taking greater hold in the popular consciousness.

Financial institutions are facing increased pressure from customers to start offering crypto services, whether in the form of payments, trading, NFTs, or CBDCs.

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Visa wants to help executives with its network of consultants and product experts in order to evaluate the crypto opportunity, develop concrete strategies, and pilot new user experiences and innovations like crypto rewards programs and CBDC-integrated consumer wallets.

Carl Rutstein, Global Head, Visa Consulting & Analytics, said: “We’ve seen 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. Today, Visa is engaging with clients and partners in every region, including the U.S., where Visa’s team is working with UMB Financial Corporation.

Uma Wilson, executive vice president, chief information and product officer at UMB Bank, commented: “We came to Visa to learn more about digital currency and the use cases that are most relevant for various business lines as we serve our customers in the years ahead. VCA helped us begin to explore a roadmap of a strategy – from product and partner selection to cross-functional considerations such as Technology, Finance, Risk, and Compliance.”

Study Finds Significant Awareness and Adoption

In a new global study, “The Crypto Phenomenon: Consumer Attitudes & Usage,” Visa found that nearly one-third of respondents have directly engaged with crypto – either as an investment vehicle or as a medium of exchange. And globally, nearly 40% of crypto owners surveyed report they would be likely or very likely to switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products in the next 12 months.

This survey follows several past research studies conducted by other firms that made similar conclusions. Awareness and adoption among consumers is increasing and firms are facing calls to address the demand.

Terry Angelos, SVP, and global head of fintech, Visa, said: “Crypto represents a technological shift for money movement and digital ownership. As consumers change their approach to investing, where they bank, and their views on the future of money, every financial institution will need a crypto strategy.”