Visa introduces Crypto Consulting Service to support partners

Visa has announced its Crypto Consulting Services – an offering designed to help clients and partners advance their own crypto journey – as crypto market awareness among financial decision makers swells to a nearly universal 94 percent.

Nearly 40% of crypto owners would switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products

In a new global study, The Crypto Phenomenon: Consumer Attitudes & Usage, Visa found that nearly one-third of respondents have directly engaged with crypto – either as an investment vehicle or to send or receive money. And globally, close to 40 percent of crypto owners report they would be likely or highly likely to switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products in the next 12 months.

“We’ve long viewed crypto as a technology with staying power both as a platform for money movement and as a focal point for a global community of developers, investors and fintechs,” said Aldo Laubscher, South Africa Country Manager at Visa.

“Crypto is capturing the attention of people around the world as they think about how they want to invest, where they want to bank, and what the future of money looks like. As crypto becomes more widely understood and adopted, financial institutions have an opportunity to meet crypto demand head on.”

Visa’s network of consultants and product experts are helping financial institutions evaluate and meet growing interest in crypto, develop concrete strategies, and pilot new user experiences and innovations like crypto-backed rewards programs and CBDC-integrated consumer wallets.

In a survey of more than 6 000 financial decision makers across eight markets (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong (SAR), South Africa, the U.K. and U.S.), the Visa study uncovered the following insights:

• The crypto headlines are having an impact. Awareness of crypto is almost universal at 94 percent globally among survey participants with discretion over their household finances.
• Nearly one in three of these crypto-aware adults already own or use cryptocurrency, and the majority of that group (62%) say their use has increased in the past year.
• Engagement is higher in emerging markets with 37 percent of crypto-aware consumers in emerging markets use or own crypto compared to 29% in developed markets.
• The biggest drivers of owning and using cryptocurrency are to take part in the “financial way of the future” (42%) and to build wealth (41%) – both forward looking motivators.
• Crypto cards and crypto rewards are attractive. Among current crypto owners, 81% express interest in crypto cards, which allow you to convert and spend crypto at the retailers where you shop in the same way you can use a debit or credit card.
• Consumers are willing to switch banks in search of crypto products. Among consumers who already own cryptocurrency, nearly 40 percent are willing to make the switch.
• South Africa has the greatest engagement overall, with both the highest percentage of Active Owners (28%), Passive Owners (16%), Crypto Curious (26%), Skeptics (7%) and Unengaged (23%).
• South Africa compares very well to the rest of the world when it comes to awareness of cryptocurrencies and active usage.

“We’ve seen a real shift in our clients’ mindset in the last year, from a desire to explore and experiment with crypto, to actually building a product roadmap,” said Laubscher. “We believe that every financial institution – whether a large multinational or regional credit union – needs to be thinking about crypto, tracking its developments and forming a strategy.”

Read more: Bitvice wants to spread Bitcoin custodianship in South Africa

Featured image by CardMapr/Unsplash