Digital payments company Visa launched its Global Crypto Advisory Practice, an offering within Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) designed to help clients and partners advance their own crypto journey.
This comes at a moment when digital currencies are becoming more and more acceptable to public. According to a new research released by Visa, awareness of crypto among financial decision makers surveyed in the UK is high at 92%.
For financial institutions eager to attract or retain customers with a crypto offering, retailers looking to delve into NFTs, or central banks exploring digital currencies, understanding the crypto ecosystem is a vital first step. Through their work with more than 60 crypto platforms, Visa’s global network of consultants and product experts have deep expertise to help financial institutions evaluate the crypto opportunity, develop concrete strategies, and pilot new user experiences and innovations like crypto rewards programs and CBDC-integrated consumer wallets.
Claudio Di Nella, Head, Visa Consulting & Analytics, Europe, said: “We’ve seen a material shift in our clients’ mindset in the last year, from a desire to explore and experiment with crypto, to actually building a strategy and product roadmap.”
Client interest in building crypto solutions comes as new Visa research shows significant awareness and adoption among consumers globally. In a new global study, “The Crypto Phenomenon: Consumer Attitudes & Usage,” Visa found that approximately one quarter of crypto-aware UK respondents have directly engaged with crypto – either as an investment vehicle or as a medium of exchange.
“Crypto represents a technological shift for money movement and digital ownership,” said Antony Cahill, Deputy CEO, Visa, Europe. “As consumers change their approach to investing, where they bank, and their views on the future of money, every financial institution will need a crypto strategy.”
Surveying more than 6,000 financial decision-makers across eight markets (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, the UK and US), the Visa study uncovered the following insights:
- The crypto headlines are having an impact. Awareness of crypto is high at 92% in the UK (94% globally) among survey participants with discretion over their household finances.
- A significant segment is using or investing with crypto. Approximately one quarter (27%) of crypto-aware adults surveyed in the UK already own or use cryptocurrency, and the majority of that group (58%) say their use has increased in the past year.
- Engagement is higher in emerging markets. 37% of crypto-aware adults surveyed in emerging markets use or own crypto compared to 29% in developed markets.
- Key motivators in the UK include wealth-building and belief in crypto as the future of financial services. The biggest drivers of owning and using cryptocurrency among active UK crypto owners include to take part in the “financial way of the future” (33%) and to build wealth (28%) – both forward looking motivators. 31% also see crypto as a global currency which allows them to send money abroad without conversion fees.
Crypto-linked cards and crypto rewards are attractive. Among current crypto owners in the UK, 78% surveyed express interest in crypto-linked 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. 85% are interested in crypto rewards, which allow you to earn crypto as a reward for your card spending.
