Visa vs. Mastercard: Who Will Win the Race of Full Crypto Integration?

• The mass adoption of Bitcoin has led to giants in many industries incorporating crypto into their roadmap for the future.
• Global payment giants Visa and Mastercard are at the forefront of the financial sector as both of them are coming up with new developments.
• Visa’s plan to acquire CurrencyCloud, a cross-border payment provider, and Mastercard’s decision to incorporate USDC are signs that both companies are crypto-friendly.
• Users and analysts laud the decision, saying it makes the lives of crypto holders easier.

This year has been filled with news of rapid institutional adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Digital assets have broken into fields where traditional finance had long dominated, along with fiat.

Presently, big companies are competing for the title of “most crypto-friendly.” Cryptocurrency is here to stay, and its mass adoption has led to cities vying to be more crypto-friendly than the rest.

Mastercard and Visa are global payment giants that transformed the sector by allowing people to perform international payments digitally. These titans are now at each other’s throats in lining up crypto-friendly policies.

Visa to Acquire CurrencyCloud

Visa has revealed plans to acquire CurrencyCloud, a global cross-border payment provider based on RippleNet.

Visa values CurrencyCloud at over $960 million and already owns a large amount of CurrencyCloud’s equity. CurrencyCloud has been successful thus far, with over 500 clients, as it helps banks and other financial firms to perfect cross-border payments.

Visa’s intention with CurrencyCloud is to reach new partners and users through its platform and to facilitate a larger global operation. CurrencyCloud is operational in over 180 countries and Visa could push its operation to the next level.

Visa has also partnered with 50 platforms to increase crypto payments, and this year its crypto-linked card usage surpassed $1 billion in the first quarter.

Mastercard to Incorporate USDC for Crypto Payments

Mastercard has announced its first stablecoin, which will be used as a bridge for customers who make cryptocurrency payments.

Most cryptocurrency companies smoothly convert crypto to fiat, and that’s where Mastercard comes in. By incorporating stablecoins the swap is made easier and ensures customer satisfaction.

USDC will become the first stablecoin to be deployed by Mastercard in fulfilment of the promise it made 5 months ago. Enabling clients to more easily make payments from their wallets through stablecoins is good, as their value is usually equivalent to the dollar.

On The Flipside

• Blockchain-based payment solutions like Stellar will cause problems for Visa and Mastercard as they already have a strong foundation in crypto.
• The current scrutiny faced by stablecoins may cause issues for Mastercard as regulatory policies remain a lingering threat to crypto.

What Does It Mean for the Involved Parties?

The move pits the financial titans head to head as they each strive to make the transactional lives of crypto holders easier.

Every transactional, cross-border payment giant has made moves this year to extend their reach through crypto. MasterCard is currently in talks with Evolve and Metropolitan Commercial Bank to issue crypto cards to customers.

Visa’s crypto push gained momentum this year as they set up 5 keys, which they are on the verge of fulfilling. It’s difficult to predict who will take the lead as both of them are on top of their game.

Originally published at DailyCoin