US-based payments major Visa has been lauded by the crypto sector one too many times for keeping a friendly approach despite regulatory lags. Visa has now joined hands with Web3 payments infrastructure provider Transak. The aim is to allow Visa crypto card holders to convert crypto assets into fiat currencies in real time. The move appears to be Visa’s attempt to further democratise the use of crypto for daily payments – but by converting their values into fiat currencies.
Transak has now been onboarded onto the Visa Direct programme. A real-time one-push payments platform, Visa Direct allows third party providers connect with Visa’s network and wire payments directly on Visa cards.
“By enabling real-time card withdrawals through Visa Direct, Transak is delivering a faster, simpler and more connected experience for its users, making it easier to convert crypto balances into fiat, which can be spent at the more than 130 million merchant locations where Visa is accepted,” Coindesk quoted Yanilsa Gonzalez-Ore, North America head of Visa Direct as commenting on the development.
Visa users will also be able to transfer cryptocurrencies from wallets like MetaMask directly into the Visa Debit Card. A total of 40 cryptocurrencies are currently eligible for conversion to fiat via this Visa Direct initiative across 145 nations. These include Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and Dogecoin among others.
“This is a major step towards mainstream acceptance and utilization of cryptocurrencies. MetaMask users can now effortlessly off-ramp directly from their wallet to the Visa card, which enhances the usability and practicality of their digital assets. Transak’s integration with Visa opens new horizons for MetaMask users globally, providing more flexibility in smooth cryptocurrency to fiat conversions,” Harshit Gangwar, Transak’s marketing head and investor relations lead was quoted by the media as saying.
Visa has been consistent in-terms of introducing Web3-friendly services in the last few years. Earlier this month, the payments giant announced a new Web3 loyalty service to assist brands experiment with Web3 elements like NFTs, metaverse, and cryptocurrencies.
In December 2022, Visa designed a functionality to enable users to make their telephone and electricity payments via self-custodial crypto wallets. The same year, Visa launched a creator programme to help digital-age artists understand and use NFTs.