It seems that the last few months have been a continuous series of meteoroids with respect to the revelations within the Crypto world. However, a meteor has just crashed into the world of finance: Coinbase, one of the main cryptocurrency exchanges in the US, announced via press release that they have been approved as a Visa principal member. This meteor is the big brother to the one that landed in 2019 when Coinbase put a debit card in consumers’ hands allowing cardholders to “spend their crypto as easily as the money in their bank account.”
Coinbase’s Visa principal membership ups the ante in two ways. First, it indicates significant endorsement from a major, global card issuer. Second, it paves an easy path for consumer adoption, associating a trusted name (Visa) with the new kid on the block (crypto/digital assets).
In the past, I had to move my crypto assets from my exchange back to my FI before I could spend it. Since the meteors have crashed, now all I’ll have to do is get a Coinbase debit card to spend my money. What this means for you is that your members don’t need you anymore. Their deposits will leave your FI and have no reason to come back.
Do you remember all the fuss and energy around mobile payments adoption? Do you remember networks rushing to certify accepting payments via these avenues? Outfitting terminals to receive payments messages from people’s phones? The question is no longer whether it’s possible or if it’s a passing trend, offering up this kind of service to cardholders is a question of relevance now.
Money is changing, currency is digital and dynamic. The only question you need to ask is whether your members’ money will go toward or away from your FI.
The reality is that you can’t “keep up” with consumer expectations, you’re either outpacing them or behind the curve. The only way to mine the metals of the next meteor that lands in the world of finance is to define your FI’s cryptocurrency/digital asset strategy and secure your future of relevance through Coin2Core (C2C): a component of DaLand CUSO’s C.O.D.E. Engine, designed to ensure local FIs engage the communities they serve through relevant services and programs.
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