Visa has been active in engaging with crypto, and this week is no exception. Reports have emerged that the payment facilitator and financial services firm has deployed it’s first smart contract on Ethereum Testnet. The move isn’t the first to signal Visa’s increased acceptance to adopt crypto in their operations. Visa’s Universal Payment Channel The company is showing clear investment in becoming a leader of payment processing through central banks via crypto. Visa’s first smart contract deployment was a payment channel accepting both Ether and USDC. This is a conceptual protocol in development by the payment processor that will enable interoperability between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), called a “Universal Payment Channel,” or UPC. The timing is appropriate given the global discussion around CBDCs. This week alone, Nigeria is looking to be the first country in Africa to launch a CBDC, the Bank of England has released it’s CBDC forum members, and New Zealand’s Central Bank has sought public feedback on CBDCs. Of course, the biggest story in the speculation is China’s recent bitcoin ban paired with rumors of the country’s exploration of a ‘digital yuan.’ Through it all, it’s safe to say that crypto and centralized currencies are at the forefront of most countries treasury departments lately. Visa’s UPC is being built to suppor...
