The Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria is already experimenting with the new Visa Tokenized Asset Platform: the goal is to launch a pilot project on Ethereum in 2025.
According to Blockworks, Visa, the payments giant, has introduced a new platform aimed at assisting financial institutions in issuing fiat-backed tokens and experimenting with their use cases. This initiative reflects the company’s goal of creating global standards that facilitate interactions between financial institutions in the realm of blockchain technology.
Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, highlighted how the increasing tokenization of real assets, from real estate to debt securities, is creating the need to bring forms of money onto blockchain platforms for trading. Sheffield stated:
“We think that creates a significant opportunity for banks to issue their own fiat-backed tokens on blockchains, do it in a regulated way and enable their customers to access and participate in these on-chain capital markets.”
Visa has closely observed central banks’ interest in tokenization and its potential to modernize financial infrastructure. The company has already conducted pilot projects with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank as part of the Digital Hong Kong Dollar program, and is participating in a pilot project for the digital real with the Central Bank of Brazil.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), based in Spain, is already working on the new Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP). The bank is testing the issuance, transfer, and redemption of a bank token on a test blockchain, with the aim of launching an initial pilot project with selected customers in 2025 on the Ethereum blockchain.
Sheffield emphasized the importance of a cautious and well-considered approach:
“From our experience working with banks, it’s [a slow process] for a reason. You have to be careful and make sure that you understand the technology and that you’re educating both internal stakeholders as well as regulators.”
Among the various use cases for banks is the ability to enable real-time money movement between their own clients. Catherine Gu, head of CBDC and tokenized assets at Visa, highlighted how cross-border transfers are an area of particular interest for banks, especially for multinational corporations that need to move money 24/7.
Sheffield predicts that interaction with tokenized real-world assets could drive most of the market demand. For example, a bank could allow its customers to use a fiat-backed token to purchase tokenized commodities or Treasury securities with instant settlement.
With the creation of the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform, the payments giant is seeking to contribute to the creation of standards to ensure interoperability between financial institutions.
