Visa Gears Up for a Crypto Revolution for Banks with VTAP
Date: 2024-10-04 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
Visa, as a major player in the payments space, is aggressively integrating blockchain into the banking sector. The latest step is the launch of the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP), which allows banks to create, transfer, and exchange fiat-backed digital assets on both public and private blockchains.
Integrating Blockchain into Banking Processes
VTAP will enable banks to use tokens in smart contracts, which can significantly automate banking operations. The platform is planned to be fully operational in 2025. Visa is targeting more than 15,000 institutional clients in 200 countries. By that time, the tokenized asset market is expected to reach billions of dollars.
According to Vanessa Colella, head of innovation at Visa, the integration of blockchain into banking will be the next big technological milestone. And Visa is committed to being at the forefront of this change.
Ethereum is key for BBVA
Working alongside Visa, the Spanish bank BBVA has already begun testing the VTAP platform. The bank is currently testing in a sandbox, where it issues, transfers, and redeems tokens on a test blockchain platform. In 2025, BBVA plans to launch a pilot project on the Ethereum blockchain to expand its financial services.
Francisco Maroto, head of digital assets at BBVA, believes that Ethereum will be a key element of the banking services of the future. One of the key goals of this project is to automate processes using smart contracts, which will reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Experts predicted back in December last year that the tokenization of real assets would drive Ethereum's growth in 2024. With huge amounts of capital at stake, tokenized assets open up new financial prospects for banks and their customers.
