by Lydia Ludmila 
- Adapter brings the possibility of cross-crypto payments closer than ever to a reality
- More and more central banks across the globe are adopting CBDC
- Vendors, businesses, and users on the same network will be less likely to use the same currencies
One of the great strengths of the crypto market is the variety and selection of tokens. With myriad protocols and use cases though, it is an issue where holders of said tokens would have trouble converting payments across platforms.
This may soon be a thing of the past because Visa seems closer than ever to solving this issue. With their ‘Universal Payments Channel’ for crypto, anyone can make payments in different types of tokens. These will be converted into the token requested by the recipient automatically.
Swarm Markets co-founder Philipp Pieper commented:
Visa has unveiled a ‘universal payment channel’ for crypto payments, bringing the possibility of cross-crypto payments closer than ever to a reality and demonstrating how crypto is disrupting fintech and the payments industry. Visa has called the project a ‘universal adapter’ for crypto payments. The potential here is quite exciting as Visa is a massive entity with significant embedded payments infrastructure. This project signals we are moving into a new paradigm of payments technology rather than just using blockchain technology to overlay legacy infrastructure.
What does this mean in practice? You might send $800 in USDT to a friend in Germany and have it automatically converted to digital euros before they arrive in their Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet. With time, this will start to happen across multiple networks. What’s more, it will be compatible with multiple digital wallets.
The benefits of universal payments
Digital currencies are not part of everyone’s financial life yet, but they are growing in importance. More and more central banks across the globe are adopting CBDC — a new, digital form of centrally issued funds that banks, consumers, and vendors can use directly.
Many central banks are likely to introduce a type of digital ledger in the years to come. They will choose the design and tech that’s most suitable for needs with view to factors like compliance, tech providers, governance, market requirements, and country-specific priorities. Vendors, businesses, and users transacting on the same network will be less and less likely to use the same currency.
