Visa Inc. announced Thursday that it has partnered with crypto payments company Mercuryo to allow users to convert digital assets into fiat currency and transfer proceeds to Visa cards using Visa Direct, the company’s real-time payments network.
summary
- Visa has partnered with crypto payments company Mercuryo to enable near-instant crypto to fiat conversion to Visa debit and credit cards using Visa Direct.
- This integration allows eligible users to receive funds within minutes, increasing payment speeds and reducing costs, including cross-border payments.
- The agreement builds on Visa’s expansion of its digital asset strategy, including stablecoin advisory services and increased stablecoin payment volumes.
Under this arrangement, eligible Mercuryo users can off-lamp their cryptocurrencies into fiat and receive funds via Visa debit or credit card, typically within minutes. The companies said the service is designed to reduce costs and speed payments compared to traditional conversion and payment methods.
Visa Direct is already used for real-time fund transfers between brokerage firms, cryptocurrencies, and digital banking accounts. The partnership extends that infrastructure to Mercuryo’s users, enabling faster cross-border payments and access to local currencies.
Visa and Mercurio said the integration aims to simplify crypto-to-fiat transactions as payment companies and digital asset platforms push to make conversion faster and more practical on a daily basis.
This is not Visa’s first crypto-related endeavor. In December, the company launched a stablecoin advisory practice to provide companies with strategic insights and customized recommendations for integrating stablecoins into their operations.
With the stablecoin space booming and Visa’s own payments volume reaching $3.5 billion annually, the global payments giant aims to open up new growth opportunities for its customers by helping them maximize the benefits of stablecoins.
Before that, Visa started a partnership with Aquanow. Aquanow aims to enable faster stablecoin payments and alleviate legacy bottlenecks in traditional payment systems.
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