According To a report recently acquired from sources familiar with the matter, Mastercard and Visa, the banks and payment companies that control the majority of crypto businesses, have suspended new partnerships with them. This information followed the collapse of several cryptocurrency firms offering crypto debit cards due to financial difficulties last year. After the report was published, Visa’s crypto head Cuy Sheffield criticized the story as “inaccurate as far as Visa is concerned.”
Visa and Mastercard Aim to Make it Clear What Their Stance Is On Cryptocurrency Whether or Not the Partnership Has Ended.
A Reuters report published on Tuesday stated that, according to unnamed sources, the two payment firms, Visa and Mastercard, had cut ties with cryptocurrency firms. The sources cited “high-profile failures” as the reason for the company’s decision, noting that discussions had been held on the matter.
Manya Saini, a Reuters reporter, spoke with a representative from Visa and Mastercard and asked for a comment. “The recent high-profile failures in the cryptocurrency sector are a stark reminder that we still have a long way to go before cryptocurrencies become part of mainstream financial services and payments,” a Visa spokesperson told Saini.
In response, the Visa representative said that the failures did not impact the blockchain and crypto technology used by the payment processor. The Mastercard representative said: “Our efforts continue to focus on the underlying blockchain technology and how it can be used to help address existing pain points and build more efficient systems.”
Several firms, including FTX, Celsius, and Blockfi, have experienced a series of bankruptcies and collapses in the cryptocurrency sector. Prior to the FTX crash in late October 2022, Visa had partnered with Blockchain.com to create a crypto debit card.
The Reuters report also included a statement from American Express, which partnered with Abra in June 2022. According to a spokesperson from American Express, although the company is open to using crypto for rewards points redemption, it’s not a common practice. “In the short term, we don’t see cryptocurrencies replacing our core payment and lending services,” the American Express representative said in an email.
Visa Crypto Chief States Reuters “Report is Inaccurate”
Following the Reuters report, Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, tweeted that the “report is inaccurate as far as Visa is concerned.” Sheffield stated that Visa is still “partnering with crypto firms to enhance fiat on- and off-ramps, as well as progress on our product roadmap to create new products that will facilitate stablecoin payments in a secure manner.” The Visa executive added
We still believe that fiat-backed cryptocurrencies on public blockchains, despite the uncertainties and challenges in the crypto ecosystem, have the potential to be an important part of the payments ecosystem.
Sheffield extended an invitation to anyone “building at the intersection of crypto and payments” to reach out. “We’d love to work with you,” the Visa executive tweeted.
What Are Visa and Mastercard Reportedly Pausing New Crypto-Partnerships? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
