Visa has seen a massive rise in cryptocurrency use on its platform, as customers made $2.5bn in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its first fiscal quarter of 2022 ending 31 December 2021.

Speaking at a recent earnings call, Visa CEO Alfred F Kelly Jr said the figure was 70pc of the company’s crypto payments volume for its entire 2021 fiscal year.

Kelly added that its settlement and crypto API capabilities have been Visa’s “key differentiators” compared to other financial institutions looking into crypto options for their customers. Kelly said there are more than 65 crypto platforms and exchanges that have partnered with the company.

“We will continue to lean into the crypto space,” he added. “Our strategy is to be a key partner to provide the connectivity, scale, consumer value propositions, reliability, and security that is needed for crypto offerings to grow.”

While companies like Visa are looking more into cryptocurrencies, countries have been taking note of its impact.

Earlier this month, Russia’s central bank proposed a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies in the country as it has the potential to cause bubbles in the market. The move mirrors China’s crackdown on crypto last year, when its government shut down bitcoin mining farms and ordered financial services firms to cease crypto activities, causing the value of bitcoin to plummet.

Kosovo’s government recently banned crypto mining to curb electricity consumption as it deals with a severe energy crisis.

Strong results

Visa saw net revenue of $7.1bn for its first fiscal quarter of 2022, an increase of 24pc to the previous year. The company’s reported net income on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis of $4bn and earnings per share of $1.83, a 27pc and 29pc increase respectively.

The company’s total payments volume increased by 20pc, while its total cross-border volume saw a 40pc increase. Kelly said the company delivered “strong results”, with the the growth in e-commerce, a return to cross-border travel and global recovery being contributing factors.

“As we look ahead, we do not believe the current surge in the pandemic will curtail the recovery,” Kelly said. “We see economies around the world continuing to improve and, as restrictions are lifted, cross-border travel will continue to recover. We remain confident that we are well positioned, via our multi-pronged growth strategy, to deliver strong results well into the future.”

Visa confirmed that in December it completed its acquisition of Currencycloud, a global platform that enables banks and fintech companies to provide foreign exchange services for cross-border payments.

According to MarketWatch, the company’s shares surged on Friday 28 January from the results of its earnings report. Visa’s stock V rose 10.6pc, its largest single-day percentage gain since April 6, 2020, when it rose 11.6pc.

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