Financial payment giant, Visa is gradually taking more interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies after releasing a recruitment ad calling for skilled personnel in retail payment and cryptocurrencies.
A Change of Mind?
Last year October, Visa Inc’s CEO Alfred Kelly Jr. lackadaisically dismissed the prospect of blockchain technology ever had in the huge amount of transaction that is currently being handled by the likes of Visa and MasterCard on a daily basis. Kelly said the blockchain was not a good technology especially for a company like Bitcoin as its strength and power lies in situations of lesser volume but higher value stakes.
However, Kelly maintained that Visa, as usual, had a team of 275 specialists—a shocking number for a company that claims it is not the least worried about blockchain—working on the innovative implementations of blockchain and decentralized technology in and out of Visa Inc. It is expected that a huge enterprise such as Visa which thrives from being a financial middleman would be unimpressed with the prospect of cryptocurrencies and a decentralized universe. The company’s lack of interest was betrayed just a few months later after it moved to buy EarthPot for more than $250 million; a company deeply entrenched in the circles of Ripple.
Gradual Steps into the Crypto Space
Visa’s foray into the world of cryptocurrencies has been open but quiet. The giant company first began a series of blockchain projects and research before forming a partnership with IBM to implement International transactions on a global scale on Ethereum’s blockchain.
“Any talented PMs interested in the intersection of crypto and retail payments? We are hiring for a new team focused on building products for fintechs that support digital currencies,” Cuy Sheffield, a member of the partnership team tweeted on March 17.
Visa’s approach is more open now, as they lodge an official vacancy for a talented Technical Product Manager to lead their nascent but high-priority project. Interested applicants who would pioneer new products in the blockchain field for Visa must have professional contacts with influencers in the field, and must be an expert in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world.
The job description for Visa’s new Technical PM further read:
“This individual will work in close collaboration with the Visa Research team to develop new products to deliver value to fintechs and Visa. This person should have great problem-solving skills and creativity to find new opportunities and anticipate how cryptocurrencies could impact payments.”
Already associated with non-cheap fees, it remains to be seen how Visa plans to squeeze out profit from their crypto and blockchain based products—something we should all expect.