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Libra Association – Visa and MasterCard Have Second Thoughts

Libra has well-known problems. With the US government and other global governments becoming involved in the future of the system. Reporting from the Wall Street Journal, major financial partners including Visa and MasterCard are reconsidering their involvement.

The Libra association has a multi-billion valued network. 28 partners consisting of payment options, marketplaces, telecoms, and non-profit groups.

Visa and MasterCard are a huge part of this network. Any partner leaving during these trying stages would be difficult. A setback for Facebook. Especially if it is a payment giant.

Doubts appearing over the organization have been well documented. Yet this is the first internal sign of trouble. Visa’s director Alfred Kelly said, his company signed an agreement with intent. But, if regulations and compliance are not satisfactory, they would not continue.

Fighting backlash and pressure from the government is difficult. Will mounting internal struggles such as this be the end of Libra?

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to be optimistic. As the Libra Association continues to battle internal and external foes. On all fronts.

Facebook claims that regulators and payments will follow the same verification and anti-fraud processes that banks and credit cards use.

Libra project leader David Marcus followed up on social media. ”For Libra to succeed, it needs committed members.” adding pressure to those partners who are having cold feet.

It is not clear if any party will leave. But what is clear, is that this is a potential disaster for the Libra association. If partners do lose interest. Libra is under enough pressure from external factors. With internal problems starting to amount, it has bad indications for the aspiring payments company.

Chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg may be next to stand before a US committee. Discussing more on Libra and the company direction for digital currency. October 28th being a possible date. This may be a time to help settle internal problems, push forward in US law and be the break they need.

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Visa Launches a Blockchain System that Algorithmically Ensures Fairness

Visa, a prominent card payment solution provider, has developed a blockchain-driven system dubbed LucidiTEE that seeks to enable multiple parties to compute large-scale private data jointly. This is touted to happen in such a way that policy compliance is guaranteed even if the input providers are offline.

Through a whitepaper, Visa’s Research & Development department has revealed that the system will algorithmically ensure fairness because if one party gets the output, the same will be availed to all honest parties.

LucidiTEE Uses Protocols

It has been stipulated that LucidiTEE utilizes protocols to warrant the compliance of policies and provision of fairness in all computations, even if any of the parties’ subsets act maliciously.

The paper asserts, “A key contribution is our protocol (with a formal proof of security) for fair n-party information exchange, which tolerates an arbitrary corruption threshold t < n, and requires only t parties to possess a TEE node.”

These protocols are beneficial as end-users on commodity devices enjoy fairness whenever they engage service providers.

Moreover, data is crunched within a trusted execution environment (TEE), as well as the utilization of history-based policies that prompt the presentation of any computational output to all parties.

LucidiTEE will first be applied in the sharing of data between customers and financial apps. It is also speculated that this blockchain system might permit banks to share data to tutor machine learning algorithms to track fraud.

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3 Benefits You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency Credit Cards

Many consumers are in the dark about ancillary benefits that cryptocurrency visa card could provide. The latest breaking news indicates that MedeTrade cryptocurrency exchange has now made Dash available for use with its Visa cryptocurrency credit and debit card.

Here are the 3 benefits that crypto users need to know about cryptocurrency credit and debit cards.

1. Making payments

Cryptocurrency Visa Cards like MedeTrade cryptocurrency credit and debit card allow crypto users to make payments for day-to-day activities such as shopping and paying bills.

2. Transferring money

Cryptocurrency Visa Cards allow users to transfer money anywhere and anytime in the world.

3. Holding different currencies

Cryptocurrency Visa Cards allow users to hold different currencies like EURO, US. Dollar, and others.

A Classic Crypto Visa Card

Meanwhile, the MedeTrade Visa card is accepted worldwide and issued via Bank of Vallete in Malta. The visa card is now available to Dash users. It offers both unverified and verified version with better withdrawal and transaction services.

Consumers can deposit Dash digital cash into the service wallet that is therefore available to be spent by the visa card. Furthermore, the card provides a cryptocurrency-back spending reward with every purchase earning up to 3% Bitcoin back on all online purchases.

The MedeTrade visa card serves as a debit card that enables Dash users to spend their money more easily worldwide. The visa card also serves as a credit card that provides verified users with a line of credit of up to €700 on the card. The credit option allows users to have more flexibility in converting their cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies for payments.

Cards pave the way for crypto mass adoption

Dash has been integrated into several gift cards and cryptocurrency debit cards for crypto providers to increase Dash’s appeal to consumers and spread Dash’s usability. This is significantly useful as a bridge between cryptocurrency users and retail businesses who may not yet accept crypto payments directly.

Crypto adoption surveys

Numerous consumer surveys regarding cryptocurrency adoption show different results. Mixed surveys indicate that after 10 years, cryptocurrency adoption is still quite low. Statista study indicates that Turkey has the highest adoption of 20% with respondents revealed to own cryptocurrency, followed by Colombia and Brazil, with 18% of each nation.

But GlobalWebIndex indicates that for those who are 16-64 years old, South Africa has the highest adoption with 10.7%, while Thailand has an adoption rate of 9.9%. But several consumers may still want to use and buy cryptocurrencies and will need to leverage services like cryptocurrency visa cards.

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Vodafone Follows PayPal and Visa to Leave Facebook's Libra Association

Facebook’s Libra faced another blow as Vodafone announced to have quitted the association.

British telecom conglomerate Vodafone is the eighth founding member to leave the Libra Association, which follows the exit of Stripe, Mastercard, Visa, eBay, Booking Holdings, Mercado Pago, and PayPal in 2019.

Vodafone’s exit is a different story

In June 2019, Facebook announced that it would launch the digital currency in partnership with other members of the association. However, the Libra project quickly faced hurdles imposed by skeptical regulators around the globe.

In October 2019, the Group of Seven (G7) warned cryptocurrencies like Libra can pose a risk to the global financial system, and they formed a task force to examine the issues. The past defecators (payment companies) left because of concerns regarding increased regulatory scrutiny that many US senators pointed out.

Vodafone’s exit is another story. The telecom giant mentioned it intends to focus on developing its own payment service, M-Pesa, further than the six African nations where it is currently available. The company said that it is not burning bridges as it is open for possible “future cooperation” with Facebook.

A Vodafone spokesperson said, “Vodafone Group has made the decision to withdraw from the Libra Association. We have mentioned from the beginning that Vodafone’s focus is to make a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion. We remain completely committed to the goal and feel we can make the greatest contribution by focusing our efforts on M-Pesa (mobile payments platform).”

Dante Disparte, the head of communications and policy for the Libra Association, mentioned, “The representation of the association members may change over time, but the design model of Libra’s technology and governance ensures that the Libra global payment system would remain resilient.”

What’s next for Facebook Libra?

This is not a disaster for Facebook’s Libra Association. The Libra Association plans to add members later in 2020, with a current waiting list of more than 1,500 companies.

However, this is still not a resounding vote of confidence in Libra’s success. Vodafone thinks that Libra stands a better chance of doing it alone, and the association must work much harder to satisfy other partners to stay onboard as Libra prepares for its anticipated launch.

Initially, the members were expected to run nodes to assist in facilitating transactions on the Libra network and contributing about $10 million to get Libra going. Spotify, Lyft, Coinbase, and Uber, etc. are the initial founding members in the Libra association.

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Mastercard CEO Answers: The Reasons Behind Leaving Facebook’s Libra Association

Mastercard’s CEO, Ajay Banga, stated the reasons behind the company leaving Facebook’s Libra Association in an interview with the Financial Times. Having left the Libra Association in October last year alongside Visa and other firms, the Libra Association has seen eight firms quitting the project.

Banga said,“When you don’t understand how money gets made, it gets made in ways you don’t like.” He added that the social media giant’s data integrity was also another reason behind quitting the project.

The CEO does not understand the stablecoin project’s business model. At the same time, the need for a proprietary digital wallet made it clear that the project may not have positioned itself as a financial inclusion tool, as it was initially stated to be.

Banga also had concerns about the Libra Association’s members to adhere to compliance measures, including anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations.

Mastercard beat Wall Street’s estimates in quarterly profit during an economic slump in October last year. Despite abandoning development efforts with Libra, Sachin Mehra, the Chief Financial Officer of Mastercard, said that the company would instead develop initiatives on its own. He added, “We’re very engaged on the blockchain technology. Much like a lot of other companies, we believe the technology has the capability to solve a lot of pain points. It still needs to be proven at scale depending on the use case and question.”

With over 100 blockchain patents filed globally, Mastercard has ranked in the top 3 among top blockchain innovators. Mastercard’s Provenance Solution is industry-agnostic and allows brands to provide record product journeys to contribute to consumer confidence, trust, and awareness. The Provenance Solution also provides governance capabilities for supply chain networks.

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Payment Giant Visa Sets to Modify PoS Charges to New Business Categories

United States-based merchants are set to see an adjustment in fees to be paid as part of the updates of payment giant Visa point-of-sale (PoS) system.

This situation was made open in a document sent by representatives of Visa to banks notifying them of an upgrade of its system, set to be implemented in the months of April and October respectively. This change in direction is part of the payments giant goals to force merchants to halt the use of checks and to also modify its new fee structure for upcoming businesses.

The potential outcome of the decision

The payments giant is allegedly preparing to implement higher rates for transactions made on e-commerce platforms while lowering the rates for specified service categories such as healthcare, educational system, and real estate. Therefore, traditional holders of Visa cards will pay 9 cents more for the transaction of $100, while holders of premium cards will have to pay 10 cents more in comparison to current rates.

Premium-card holders will see 33% drop rates in interchange fees for the transaction of $50 categories to be enjoyed by supermarkets, as reported by the documents sent by Visa.

The report read, “In the past ten years, there has been no change in the U.S credit interchange structure. This is based on data of the most recent review in the U.S. Visa now tries to modify its default interchange rate structure in order to maximize acceptability and usability, which will then mirror the present value of Visa products.”

Visa also aims to seize the opportunity that abounds in the continuous change in the global financial and payments landscape, which is witnessing drastic changes with the emergence and development of digital currencies.

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Visa’s Head of Crypto Makes Argument for Bitcoin Micropayments

The term “smart contracts” was invented by Nick Szabo, who stated the issues of micropayments and mental transaction costs. These problems were classified as “uncertain cash flows, incomplete and costly observation of product attributes, and incomplete and costly decision making.

Visa’s Head of Cryptocurrency, Cuy Sheffield addressed the problem in a Twitter thread,stating that the current systems do not allow for a fraction of a cent. He explained that every time a consumer makes a purchase, the brain is responsible to make a mental transaction cost, by deciding whether the product or service is worth the amount being paid for.

Sheffield elaborated on the barriers of today’s systems, preventing them from the introduction of microtransactions. The current existing payment networks have not been made for transactions of less than a cent, he also argued that there is no name for a value that is below one cent. He raises the idea of paying 1 cent to upvote or like a post, which could add up and would not incentivize this behavior on social media network platforms.

According to Sheffield, a consumer would be more prone to spending Bitcoin than holding the crypto is because “they could spend it in payment flows they can’t make today in dollars,” which also fulfills payment use cases that fiat currently does not.

Arguing that Bitcoin has this function, with Satoshis – that represents one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin, Sheffield concludes that consumers will no longer bother with mental transaction costs, as accumulative transactions may only cost cents.

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Coinbase Becomes the First Crypto Firm to Be Awarded Visa Principal Membership

The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange is now a principal member of the credit card giant Visa. This will allow the San-Francisco based crypto exchange firm to issue debit cards without the reliance on third parties.

By becoming a Visa principal member, the crypto firm will be able to offer additional services. Principal members of Visa are financial institutions, which are authorized to act as “issuing bank,” implying they can provide transaction processing services and issue cards. Coinbase is the first cryptocurrency firm that has reached such a level of certification.

This is not the first time Coinbase is dealing with Visa. The two firms have been working together since 2019 when the crypto exchange company introduced its Coinbase card (“a visa debit card, funded by your balance”) in the UK. But now the membership will make it possible to bring the visa debit card and additional services accessible to more markets around the world. Just nine months after the launch of Coinbase card in the UK, the debit card has spread to 29 European countries.

The debit card now enables users to spend 10 different cryptocurrencies as cash everywhere Visa is accepted. The debit card has been made available to consumers residing in 29 European countries to spend multiple cryptocurrencies.

The debit card functions with any Visa-compatible payment terminals and ATMs. Customers can decide on the app that they want to use the visa card for various transactions.

Talking about the Visa approval, Coinbase commented: “We are excited to be the first company within the cryptocurrency industry to be awarded Visa principal membership. Such membership will allow us to provide more features for Coinbase card customers, offer additional services, and support more markets. All these are components that will assist us in evolving and enriching the crypto payment experience.” Coinbase revealed that the approval is part of its ongoing mission of mainstreaming cryptocurrency adoption.

Coinbase Also First Custodian to Pass Two Major Security Evaluations

As reported by Blockchain.News, Feb. 12, Coinbase Custody announced it had been awarded both Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports by accounting firm Grant Thornton.

Coinbase Coinbase Custody has become the first cryptocurrency custodian to pass two new security evaluations.

For Coinbase Custody clients, these reports reinforce that the system requirements, service commitments, and data protection safeguards of the custodian meet the rigorous standards necessary to provide the safest custody solution in the crypto ecosystem.

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Google Pay Opens Door to Mainstream Payments for Coinbase's Crypto-Debit Card

Coinbase and technology giant Google have partnered to enable Android and iOS users to link their crypto-based Coinbase card into their Google Pay wallets, facilitating cryptocurrency payments on a mainstream platform used by millions.

Android and iOS Users Can Now Make Crypto Payments

Coinbase card (a visa-based debit card), which can be funded with crypto, is now working with Google Pay. This makes Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange company in the US, the first firm to enable android and iOS users to make mobile payments with cryptocurrencies. Android clients can now add the Coinbase visa debit card directly to their Google Pay wallet and pay with cryptocurrency for various services on the app.

Google Pay gives Coinbase card users a secure and quick approach to pay using their smartwatches, tablets, smartphones, and other Google Pay-enabled devices. Android clients can pay with Google Pay for anything using their crypto in a cheap, fast, and the most secure conceivable way. Clients will be able to tap into various cryptos like Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC), and digital assets like XRP (XRP), stellar lumens (XLM), and basic attention token (BAT) balances to make daily purchases.

Coinbase card payments on Google Pay is now available for clients in 14 countries such as France, the US, the UK, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Slovakia. The crypto exchange firm intends to work on expanding the integration to other EU regions later this year.

Clients who intend to enjoy the valued benefits of paying with cryptos on Google Pay should go ahead and download the Coinbase card app on iOS and android devices and sign in using Coinbase account credentials. Once a client has requested a card, he or she can add it to Google Pay app and spend crypto with it to pay or buy anything even before the arrival of the physical card.

As an effort to power online, in-store, and peer-to-peer payment worldwide, Google Pay is anticipated to expand its users to 100 million globally in 2020, up from 39 million in 2018. The popular digital wallet is the second most widely utilized contactless mobile payment provider along with Korean tech Samsung, which is on the right track to having the same numbers of users worldwide. The two firms trail only Apple Pay that has more than 220 million users globally.

The Bid to Make Coinbase Payment Available in Several Regions is real

Based in San Francisco, Coinbase has been active in its to provide mobile payment facilitated through users’ crypto balances. In February 2020, the company partnered with the credit card giant Visa to make it possible to bring the Visa debit card accessible to UK and Europeans customers. The latest Coinbase’s move to support the Goggle Pay integration is set to enable the company to expand its availability to more markets.

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Visa Partners with Fold to Offer Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card

Visa, a prominent payment provider, has joined hands with Fold, a San Francisco-based Bitcoin cashback app, to offer a credit card that will enable consumers to gain Bitcoin rewards as compared to earning points. Through the strategic collaboration, users will have first-hand experience with the most-valuable cryptocurrency.

A smart way of gaining Bitcoin

According to Will Reeves, the CEO of Fold, the partnership will be ideal in making Bitcoin go mainstream as consumers will have the chance to own the leading digital asset.

He noted, “If people don’t understand Bitcoin as money yet, they certainly will understand it as a better reward.”

Reeves believes that the card is a game-changer as it will enable people to accumulate Bitcoin in a much simpler and smart manner as compared to setting up a virtual wallet on a crypto exchange.

The credit card will have the Fold brand though powered by Visa. Cryptocurrency adoption gets a significant milestone because the Fold card will be used in reputable companies, such as Nike, Airbnb, Starbucks, Amazon, Uber, and Domino’s, among others.

Visa gains ground in the crypto space

Reeves acknowledged that the Fold card would enlighten people more about cryptocurrencies based on the Bitcoin rewards accrued compared to other gains like cash shows, loyalty points, or airline miles.

He added, “Bitcoin enters the pantheon where it’s that much closer to everyday consumers. I fundamentally believe there are more shoppers than speculators.”

Visa has been making headways in the crypto sector based on the innovations rendered. For instance, it partnered with Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the United States, by establishing a Coinbase card that allows users to make purchases using cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin, Ether, and Bitcoin in different retail stores.

In November 2019, Visa also launched a blockchain system that algorithmically ensured fairness, even if the input providers were offline.

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