Payments behemoth Visa acquired financial technology firm Plaid for $5.3 billion, according to a press release published on Jan. 13. Per the release, Plaid has developed a network that allows users to easily connect their financial accounts to the apps they use to manage their financial lives. The firm’s products reportedly allow for convenient sharing of financial information with thousands of apps and services by allowing users to link various accounts. The announcement states that 75% of the world’s internet-enabled consumers used a fintech application for moving funds. As such, it has “become increasingly important to facilitate consumers’ ability to …

Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance now allows users to buy crypto directly through Visa credit and debit cards. In a Dec. 26 announcement, Binance said that its users are able to directly purchase four cryptocurrencies after binding their accounts to Visa cards issued within the European Economic Area. Binance users can buy four cryptocurrencies with euros or pounds Once the Visa card is linked, users can buy four cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP and Binance’s native token Binance Coin (BNB) with euros or British pounds. According to the announcement, Binance plans to add support for Mastercard and additional …

Coinbase Card, a crypto-powered Visa debit card from major crypto exchange Coinbase, now supports Dai (DAI), a stablecoin pegged to the United States dollar. According to a blog post on Dec. 6, Dai is the first stablecoin that is available on Coinbase Card, alongside major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC). As 1 DAI is equivalent to $1, the addition of the stablecoin to the Coinbase Card aims to allow customers to spend crypto with less volatility, the announcement says. Cointelegraph has requested comment from Coinbase’s team on why the company has decided to choose DAI rather than …

International payment network Visa is working on a blockchain-based system for joint policy-compliant computation of large-scale private data. Visa Research — the research and development arm of Visa that focuses on data analytics, security and payment innovation — released a paper describing a blockchain-powered system for policy-compliant computing. The system is dubbed LucidiTEE, where TEE stands for trusted execution environments. Joint processing of large data sets with higher transparency The system is aimed at building applications that process large data sets and are intended for serving a large number of users, without knowing in advance what users would participate and …

Coinbase’s Visa debit card has expanded support for five more cryptocurrencies in ten new jurisdictions, the firm announced in two separate tweets on Nov. 14. Launched in April 2019, Coinbase Card now supports a total of nine cryptocurrencies in 29 countries in Europe. The Coinbase Card’s new supported cryptos include XRP, Stellar (XLM), Basic Attention Token (BAT), 0x (ZRX) and Augur (REP), enabling users to spend using the listed currencies. The five coins join other major supported cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). Coinbase Card allows users to make purchases using crypto from Coinbase …

The value of Business-to-Business (B2B) cross-border payments carried out on a blockchain will exceed $4.4 trillion by 2024, after reaching $171 billion this year. According to a press release published by Juniper Research on Nov. 5, the firm’s new report revealed that financial institutions will save $7 billion by 2024 thanks to the advantages of blockchain-based systems. More precisely, the report cites the lower cost, higher transparency, real-time settlement of blockchain transactions and automated Know Your Client checks based on self-sovereign identity. The author of the research, Morgane Kimmich, said: “The implementation of blockchain is part of a wider strategy …

According to new data from marketing analysis firm SEMRush, Bitcoin (BTC) is the third-most preferred online payment method in Italy. Bitcoin comes in third place On Oct. 31, the Italian news outlet La Stampa reported that the Boston-based marketing analysis company, it was stated that in the list of the most used methods of online payment systems in Italy, Bitcoin comes in a strong, third place, just behind PayPal and the Italian reloadable prepaid card service PostePay. The data further revealed that Italians use Bitcoin for shopping online more widely than traditional credit cards, such as Visa, Mastercard or American …

Alfred F. Kelly, CEO of major payment processor Visa, has said that the company is still in discussions with Facebook on the Libra project. In an interview with finance and economics-focused publication Economic Value on Oct. 24, Kelly assured the interviewer that Visa still maintains a close relationship with Facebook on the subject, as it believes that digital currencies provide safer payments to more people and places. Kelly said: “As a curious and open company — and given the leadership we have in the payments ecosystem — we want to engage in everything in the payment space until we reach …

The head of Facebook's Calibra has claimed that the recent withdrawal of the seven companies from the Libra Association has no impact on the project. Dropouts will still be able to work with Libra In an interview with Yahoo Finance on Oct. 15, Calibra’s David Marcus argued that Facebook’s cryptocurrency project is “absolutely not” in jeopardy after PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, eBay, Mercado Pago and Booking quit the Libra Association. Marcus emphasized that companies outside the formal association will still be able to offer services on the platform: “One thing that is not well understood is that you don’t need …

Coinbase CEO has criticized United States’ senators for asking Stripe, Mastercard and Visa to leave Facebook’s crypto project Libra. “Something feels very un-American about this” After U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Sherrod Brown apparently pressured the payment giants to leave Libra, Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of major U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase, called the action “un-American” in a tweet on Oct. 13. Armstrong wrote: “Something feels very un-american about this. Two senators writing to Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe to ask them to withdraw from Libra.” Senators’ letter pushes payment giants to leave Libra On Oct. 8, senators Schatz and Brown …

Visa, EBay, Stripe and Mastercard have all announced that they are dropping out of Facebook’s Libra Association and its associated stablecoin project. Four companies abandon ship On Oct. 11, Bloomberg reported that Ebay, Stripe and Mastercard had decided to drop out of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project. Within minutes, Visa said it had also decided not to join the Libra Association, according to The Block. The news comes one week after payment processor PayPal announced its withdrawal from the Libra stablecoin project as regulators continue to scrutinize the project. The companies have expressed respect for Facebook’s vision and claim to see …

A blockchain-based advertising platform says it is committed to reducing levels of fraud in the ad industry — enabling marketing budgets to go further. AdEx says its infrastructure means advertisers and publishers receive data about impressions in real time, enabling businesses to track the progress of campaigns. The elimination of a withdrawal threshold allows publishers to receive revenues for adverts whenever they please, delivering much-needed flexibility. Benefits for advertisers and publishers According to AdEx, the advertising industry is currently losing billions annually — and smaller brands, which are already struggling to get their voices heard in an era of information …