Demand for Digital Assets Grows, Visa Launches Crypto Options for Banks

Every bank needs a crypto strategy

Visa, who is a major supporter of Crypt.com and other crypto FinTech startups, has put a line in the sand for banks. “Every bank should have a crypto strategy,” Visa argues. To help with this transition Visa started a global crypto advisory practice to help financial institutions develop their cryptocurrency businesses as demand for various crypto products continues to grow.

“We think it’s a critical role for Visa to play to help be this bridge between banks and the crypto ecosystem,” Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, told CoinDesk. “Every bank should have a crypto strategy.”

The newly formed advisory team is expected to work with banks to advise on their crypto strategy and execution and help build internal dedicated crypto teams.

Sheffield says there’s been an inflection point over the last nine months in which banks have started to recognize their consumers want access to crypto. Meanwhile, they also want to figure out how they can better serve crypto businesses such as exchanges and wallets, according to Sheffield.

This news comes hott off the heels of a new study, commissioned by Visa, found that 18% of global participants revealed they would be very likely to switch a primary bank to one that offers crypto options and other related products like crypt credit cards, hodling and swapping.

Likewise, in emerging markets that number moonshot to 24% proving that this movement is gaining momentum and is now a driving force behind the banks that the public choose to use.

The biggest gem was that the study uncovered that 40% of participants expressed a willingness to switch their banks to ones offering crypto products.

Up, down; crypto is here to stay. And with this infusion of new interest comes….better interest, rates. Crypto APY is typically much higher than that of what Banks offer. Perhaps the public is no longer interested in being abused by brick and mortor banks.