Visa, Mastercard Reaffirm Their Crypto Strategy, Deny Report On Halting Digital Asset Expansion

Visa and Mastercard have denied a Reuters report that the payment giants were halting plans to establish new deals with cryptocurrency firms. The companies said they will continue working with their partners in the industry.

"The recent failures do not change our crypto strategy and focus to serve as a bridge, helping connect both platforms and technologies emerging in the crypto ecosystem. That is where we have been investing and plan to continue to invest," a spokesperson for Visa told CoinDesk hours after the Reuters report emerged.

The report, citing people with knowledge of the situation, said Visa and Mastercard were putting a hold on forging new partnerships with crypto firms following a series of breakdowns in the industry, which include the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and the SEC investigation into Robinhood.

The report further claimed that both payment giants had decided to delay the launching of some products and services related to cryptocurrency until market conditions improve.

"This story is inaccurate as it pertains to Visa," Visa's head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, said in a Twitter thread. The executive went on to note that the company will continue to collaborate with crypto firms "to improve fiat on and off ramps as well as progress on our product roadmap to build new products that can facilitate stablecoin payments in a secure, compliant, and convenient way."

Sheffield also acknowledged the "challenges and uncertainty" within the crypto sector, but reiterated that its view has not changed regarding cryptocurrency having the potential "to play an important role in the payments ecosystem."

Visa recently formed a long-term partnership with crypto payments platform Wirex to launch crypto-enabled cards in more than 40 countries.

"Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants," Matt Wood, Visa's head of digital partnerships in Asia, said in a press release last month.

Responding to the Reuters report, a Mastercard spokesperson told CoinDesk that the company still intended to "work with partners to bring relevant payments solutions and programs to market."

Mastercard recently partnered with Web3 payment protocol Immersve to allow its users to make crypto transactions across digital, physical and metaverse spaces, India Today reported. USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin that is pegged to the U.S. dollar, will be used in the transactions and users won't require a third party for collateral. Immersve CEO Jerome Faury said the partnership with Mastercard signaled "a big step" toward adopting Web3 wallets.