Visa relies heavily on national digital currencies

Visa continues its expansion into the crypto world with strategic hires and moves to strengthen departments, building its dream team with big names in the tech universe. The head of the crypto department Cuy Sheffield told it on Twitter, who explained the new purchases move by move. The payment giant hired two new key figures this month. Catherine Carle, who will focus on the social impact of cryptocurrencies, studying how Visa can get involved in improving access to underserved individuals and communities. At the head of the crypto strategy team for emerging markets comes Chike Ukaegbu, founder of the New York accelerator Startup52 (focused on supporting companies with a strong focus on diversity), but also the man who in 2019, at the age of 35 years old, he ran in the Nigerian presidential elections with an innovative and entirely digital electoral campaign. For him, a focus on financial inclusion and the desire to bring the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship and public utility to Visa. With some internal reorganization movements, internal talents also join the crypto team, abandoning their current positions to occupy leading roles. Anuj Bathala moves from the product marketing department to a similar role in the crypto department, with the position of Go To Market lead for study and market launch of new solutions. His move was born with a view to strengthening the sector by fostering partnerships with exchanges, wallets and platforms to implement the use of Visa cards for their transactions, and Daniel Mottice (particularly in the field of stablecoins and digital currencies) and Alex Chiang in NFT as a resource for e-commerce. The new purchases strengthen a team already launched in the crypto world with numerous initiatives. Particularly significant is the area of ​​research on the use of digital currencies issued by central banks, and also the sector which aims to study solutions that can help lenders to integrate crypto instruments into their core products. In his tweets, Cuy Sheffield also announces the search for new figures for other vacant positions, witnesses of a company that aims for leadership in the sector. A strategy that also emerges from what Nikola Plecas, Chief of news payments flows, VISA Consulting and Analytics in Europe told a few weeks ago. “The world of digital currencies and cryptography has evolved very significantly since the 2009 launch of Bitcoin “, he explained, recounting that” Visa’s strategy is to be a network of networks and really be able to create new payment flows outside the known card tracks “. But the cryptocurrencies Visa intends to focus on are not Bitcoin and company, but rather stablecoins and digital coins issued by central banks, creating a consumer-friendly environment that allows everyone to use the new tools for investments and payments without upsetting their habits. of use.