Visa’s trademark applications suggest more involvement in crypto space

October 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

The company's trademark owner applied for its name to be used in software “to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange” crypto and NFTs.

Major credit card company Visa may be planning to explore digital wallet services based on two recent trademark applications.

According to records submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 22, the Visa International Service Association filed two applications for its character mark to be used in software “to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange” crypto assets and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The filings also suggested the credit card company may be exploring a move into the metaverse, with its namesake used in “virtual environments in which users can interact for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes.”

VISA has filed 2 trademark applications claiming plans for:

▶️ Managing Digital, Virtual, and Cryptocurrency transactions
▶️ Digital currency + Cryptocurrency wallets
▶️ NFTs + Virtual goods
▶️ Providing virtual environments
...and more#NFT #Metaverse #Web3 #Cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/SnTkt8jx4o
— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) October 27, 2022

Some reports suggest that there are more than 1 billion Visa cards in circulation around the world. The company has previously partnered with crypto firms to offer credit and debit cards tied to crypto payments. The trademark filings followed those of Mastercard, which applied to the USPTO in April to use its logo in the metaverse and through NFTs.

The credit card company has announced gradual forays into the crypto space in recent years. In March 2021, Visa said it planned to launch a pilot program allowing its partners to use USD Coin (USDC) to settle transactions made in fiat. The company also spent $150,000 to acquire a cryptopunk in August 2021 as part of an effort for “first-hand understanding of the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT.”

Japan’s International Payments System will test plastic cards for CBDC

October 24, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bank of Japan

Japan Credit Bureau will develop its CBDC infrastructure in collaboration with IDEMIA and Softspace.

Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), a Japanese analog to international payments systems like Visa or Mastercard, announced the start of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure testing. The project will assumably prepare the payments platform for a national CBDC, which is currently being tested by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).

The infrastructure project, announced by the company in local media, will come under the title JCBDC and aims at adjusting the JCB’s existing credit card infrastructure for CBDC payments. The France-based provider of facial recognition technology IDEMIA and Malaysian Softspace will collaborate with JCB in the platform’s development.

The platform will consist of three major directions — a touch payment solution, an issuance and provision of plastic cards for CBDC and a simulation of the working CBDC environment. JCB also plans to adjust the mobile payment tools and QR codes, but in the later stages of testing.

JCB plans to develop a payment solution by the end of 2022 and start the demonstration experiments at actual stores by the end of March 2023.

The BOJ shared a three-phase trial outline for its CBDC back in Oct. 2020. The second phase of the trials, which would test the technical aspects of the issuance of the digital yen, should start this year. According to the BoJ governor, the digital yen could launch by 2026, and the decision won’t be made by the central bank alone.

There is still no certainty about the project launch or the possible scope of its implementation. In January, the former head of the BOJ’s financial settlement department advised against using the digital yen as a part of the country’s monetary policy.

JCB is not a newcomer to digital innovations — it started a pilot of a digital identity interoperability system based on blockchain technology in collaboration with Fujitsu Laboratories in 2020.

Mastercard taps Paxos to launch crypto trading for banks

October 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Banks

Mastercard will deploy its technology to integrate crypto trading into banks’ interfaces, while Paxos is set to provide its trading and custody services.

Mastercard officially announced on Oct. 17 a new program to enable financial institutions to bring crypto trading capabilities and services to their customers.

Called “Crypto Source,” the program is designed to allow users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies, complemented by Mastercard’s proprietary Crypto Secure solution for additional security and compliance.

The tool is launched in cooperation with Mastercard’s existing partner Paxos Trust Company and is reportedly expected to launch in Q4 2022. Paxos is known for providing similar services to global payment giant PayPal, which launched its first crypto services in late 2020.

Within the new partnership, Paxos will provide crypto asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks, while Mastercard will deploy its technology to integrate crypto trading into banks’ interfaces.

Ajay Bhalla, president of Mastercard’s cyber and intelligence unit, pointed out the company’s growing crypto expertise and commitment to the market. He mentioned Mastercard’s recent crypto-related investments, including acquisitions of the crypto intelligence service CipherTrace in September and the digital identity platform Ekata in April last year.

Announcing the news, Mastercard referred to the 2022 Mastercard New Payments Index, reporting that 29% of respondents globally hold cryptocurrency as an investment. Another 65% of respondents reportedly indicated a preference for crypto services to be provided by their current trusted financial institution.

“What we are announcing today is a connected approach to services that will help bring users safely and securely into the crypto ecosystem,” Bhalla noted.

Paxos’ head of strategy Walter Hessert also highlighted the scale of Mastercard’s global network of financial institutions. According to the executive, the new tool will provide banks and creditors with the “most trusted way to offer safe, reliable crypto assets.”

Mastercard’s latest crypto initiative comes amid the total crypto market capitalization falling about 60% since the beginning of 2022. According to Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief digital officer, it would be “shortsighted to think that a little bit of a crypto winter heralds the end of it.”

“As regulation comes in, there is going to be a higher degree of security available to the crypto platforms, and we’ll see a lot of the current issues getting resolved in the quarters in the years to come,” Lambert reportedly stated.

Mastercard has been actively working on various crypto and blockchain-related initiatives in recent years. In January 2022, Mastercard announced a collaboration with the Coinbase exchange to allow Coinbase NFT users to make purchases using Mastercard’s cards.

In October 2021, Mastercard partnered with the digital asset firm Bakkt to allow its United States-based customers to buy, sell and hold digital assets through custodial wallets.

Global payment giant Mastercard continues its efforts to promote cryptocurrency adoption by developing a new tool allowing banks to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).

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Binance and Mastercard will launch prepaid crypto cards in Argentina

August 4, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Argentina

"Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow,” said Maximiliano Hinz.

Major crypto exchange Binance has partnered with Mastercard to launch a prepaid card for the residents of Argentina.

In a Thursday announcement, Binance said the card will allow its clients in Argentina to use Bitcoin (BTC), BNB and other cryptocurrencies to make purchases as well as ATM withdrawals in fiat wherever Mastercard is accepted — roughly 90 million merchants globally and online. Argentine cardholders can also earn up to 8% back in cryptocurrency from certain purchases.

According to Binance, the introduction of the card — expected to be “widely available in the coming weeks” — was part of the company’s efforts to further the global adoption of crypto. Residents of Argentina will be the first in the region to have access to the cards, but the crypto exchange announced a similar initiative for Binance users in Ukraine in April and for the European Economic Area in 2020.

"Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow,” said Maximiliano Hinz, general director of Binance in Latin America. “By using the Binance Card, merchants continue to receive fiat and the users pay in cryptocurrency they choose.”

Busy day. #Binance and Mastercardhttps://t.co/bGasmirwxD
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) August 4, 2022

The card requires Argentines to have a valid national identity card or documento nacional de identidad. Similar requirements are already in place for credit cards issued by local crypto exchanges. In 2021, Lemon Card launched a card with Visa offering 2% back in BTC for Argentine users while Buenbit and Belo both partnered with Mastercard to release a prepaid card and a crypto rewards card, respectively.

Despite the recent market downturn, reports suggest that many Argentines may still be turning to crypto. According to an Americas Market Intelligence report from April, researchers found that “crypto penetration” in Argentina had reached 12% — roughly double that of Peru and Mexico.

Credit Cards Should Not Be Used for Crypto Transactions, Taiwan’s Financial Watchdog Says

July 24, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Buying crypto with credit card is now indirectly banned in Taiwan

July 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

In its note to banking sector, a chief financial regulator likens virtual assets to online gambling.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), a chief financial regulator, issued a note to the banking industry, indicating that they should not grant the virtual assets providers (VASPs) the status of merchant in operations with credit card holders. That means a de-facto ban on buying crypto with a credit card on the island.

As the local media reported on Thursday, July 21, The Financial Supervisory Commission sent a letter to the Association of Banks in early July, reminding the members of the Association of Banks that virtual assets are highly speculative and risky, and the cash flow is complex and challenging to monitor transactions effectively.

The regulator has also specified that credit cards are essentially consumer payment tools, not investment and wealth management or payment tools with high speculative, high risk and high financial leverage transactions. It referred to the longstanding tradition of preserving credit card holders from paying for online gambling, stocks, futures and options, among other things.

The FSC requires banks to adjust to the new guidelines within 3 months. After that, the audit unit must review its internal compliance and report the results to the regulator.

It is not the first time FSC has taken action or voiced its skepticism about crypto. Last year, the regulator issued several press releases to remind the public of related risks associated with virtual assets.

In July 2021, Taiwan enacted the renewed anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, based on the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendation.

At the end of June governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), recommended a no-interest design for the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. Taiwan is currently in the second stage of its CBDC pilot program, where its central bank provides the CBDC to five selected Taiwanese banks for distribution among consumers.

ECB exclusive: Crypto payments ‘not currently cost effective,’ Amex exec says

June 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

American Express

The American Express executive said that their firm is bullish on crypto and is actively working to incorporate more crypto-related services in the future.

Gonzalo Pérez del Arco, the director of government affairs in South Europe for card payment giant American Express, believes that making payments with crypto is not cost-effective at present.

Pérez’s comments came during an exclusive chat with Cointelegraph editor Aaron Wood at European Blockchain Convention 2022, where he discussed American Express’ current crypto-related plans and future prospects.

Pérez explained that several factors make crypto payments non-feasible in the current market, such as high transaction costs and the willingness of merchants to accept digital payments. However, he noted that crypto payments could become a reality in the future, and his firm is bullish on working in that direction.

He added that the firm is interested in crypto payments "Because it's the right direction that competitors in the market are taking."

Pérez noted that American Express has been betting big on crypto with investments and developments of several crypto use cases through its venture capital arm Amex Ventures. He cited the example of the recently launched crypto reward card in association with Abra, a crypto-focused financial firm.

He said that the decision to launch a crypto reward card program instead of delving directly into crypto payments was because of the low risks involved. He cited the upcoming MICA regulations in Europe that prohibit the tokenization of rewards as one of the key reasons that influenced their decision:

“If you see the MICA regulation that is about to be published in Europe where tokenization of rewards logic program is something that is already contemplated. Membership rewards are something relatively easy to do and low risk compared to other activities in payments that, involve the crypto.”

While American Express is taking cautionary steps in its crypto-approach, other card payment giants such as Mastercard and Visa have been on an expansion spree into nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3.

Visa has been actively working on integrating crypto payment with its network, allowing millions of customers to directly spend their crypto at thousands of merchants across the world. The payment processor giant reported $1 billion in crypto spending in the first quarter of 2021. The firm recently launched an immersion program to help creators build their business with NFTs.

Mastercard on the other hand has moved beyond crypto payments and recently announced a direct NFT purchase option for 2.9 billion cardholders.

Two credit card firms in Israel to let cardholders buy Bitcoin

May 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Two Israel-based credit card companies, Max and Isracard, have started working on Bitcoin investment and cashback solutions via a credit card.

Financial companies in Israel are increasingly moving into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), with two competing credit card firms working on BTC investment and cashback features.

Two Israel-based credit card companies, Max and Isracard, have inked partnerships with crypto-related platforms in order to allow cardholders to purchase Bitcoin, the local news agency Calcalist reported on May 17.

Max announced collaboration with the local crypto broker Bits of Gold to launch a crypto-enabled card called MaxBack Crypto. According to Max's official website, the card will offer cash back opportunities in BTC as well as the option to buy Bitcoin through a clearing agreement Bits of Gold.

Formerly known as Leumi Card, Max is one of the largest credit card processors and issuers in Israel and a major non-banking financial institution. The firm reportedly issued 1.6 million credit cards and provides clearing services to more than 40,000 merchants.

We are excited to launch, in collaboration with Max the MaxBack Crypto card - the first credit card in Israel that turns your purchases into Bitcoin!#BTC #Cryptocurrency #DigitalCurrency #creditcard
— Bits of Gold (@BitsofGold_LTD) May 17, 2022

Max’s competitor, Isracard Group, is one of the biggest credit card companies in Israel, offering credit clearing services to four major credit card brands including American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Isracard.

Isracard is also not missing out on crypto, reportedly announcing a partnership with Israel’s major investment company Altshuler Shaham on May 17 as well.

Isracard specifically partnered with Altshuler’s crypto-focused subsidiary Altshuler Shaham Horizon to allow Isracard holders to purchase Bitcoin directly via its credit card.

As previously reported, Altshuler Shaham has expressed interest in Bitcoin investment before, with the firm investing $100 million into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in 2020.

“As the leading crypto company in the country, we are proud to launch this innovative collaboration, which will allow the general public to join the digital currency arena,” Horizon CEO Ilan Stark said. “If in the past this field belonged to the exotic part of the capital market, today we see more and more interest from investors and customers,” the exec added.

credit cards

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