What is the Missing Bridge Between Cryptocurrency and Traditional Finance?

Global South crypto P2P app NoOnes announced in a recent press release that it will aggressively promote virtual cards to its users after recent internal research shows the use of the NoOnes Virtual Visa card has remained flat over the past two years.

Previous research from NoOnes showed that stablecoin use on its platform had increased from 25% to 60% over the previous two years. The company believes the combination of a virtual card and coins like USDT open the global financial system for users in the Global South who usually have problems accessing traditional banking.

NoOnes says it will try to persuade its users of the benefits of connecting USDT to a Virtual Visa card.

Visa currently processes approximately $14 trillion annually via a network of over 150 million merchants across the globe. It is estimated that there are between 2.5 – 3 billion people using the network in over 200 countries and territories.

One of the big problems cryptocurrency solved was helping the unbanked and underbanked access the global financial system, so it makes sense that the ability to access a global network to pay for goods and services would be attractive for users of crypto, too.

The problem NoOnes has focused upon is that while people can receive USDT or USDC from virtually anyone around the world, airlines, supermarkets, restaurants, subscription services, retailers, and many businesses still operate under traditional payment systems. NoOnes says Virtual Visa cards are the best way to bridge that gap in most cases.

Part of the reason for Africa’s relatively slow acceptance of virtual cards is that mobile money (MoMo) has been a staple of financial services in Africa for a long time. Users who receive USDT can trade it on P2P platforms like NoOnes and get funds added to their MoMo wallets in their local currencies.

Globally, there are around 500-600 million active users of MoMo, and Africans account for the majority of usage, particularly in countries like Kenya (M-Pesa) and Ghana (MTN).

The NoOnes point about Virtual Visa is important because many Africans have problems trying to send money cross-border. MoMo has already taught hundreds of millions of people that money doesn’t have to come from a bank, but NoOnes believes that stablecoins extend that idea internationally when added to their Virtual Visa card.

Visa itself actively promotes stablecoin-linked cards and settlement systems, and virtual cards offer crypto users global acceptance. They can spend money anywhere Visa is accepted while lessening their dependence on local banking infrastructure. Many users keep stablecoins as savings and then spend in fiat. Merchants are happy because they don’t have to understand crypto or blockchain – they get their funds in local currencies. Crypto created digital dollars but virtual cards created global acceptance long before that.

The connection between the two might be a game-changer for many Africans.

• The old stack used to be: Cash + bank account + debit card + merchant.
• NoOnes believes the new stack is: USDT + digital wallet + virtual cards + merchant.

NoOnes positions itself as the crypto P2P app for the Global South, so it is understandable that it would highlight the problems its Virtual Visa card solves for users. Traditional finance works fine, for the most part, in highly developed economies. Crypto, on the other hand, excels when people have problems with cross-border transactions, inflation protection, dollar access, and 24/7 settlements.

As more young Africans take remote jobs or work as freelancers, entrepreneurs and creators, they will likely be paid in stablecoins. They have MoMo and P2P bank transfers to enable them to convert their crypto and use it locally, but adding a virtual card opens up the rest of the world.

Since the first Bitcoin, cryptocurrency has battled to gain legitimacy among the mainstream population worldwide, and it was resisted by traditional finance for a long time. Now, companies like Visa and Mastercard are embracing crypto. Mastercard now supports end-to-end stablecoin capabilities. Visa continues to develop stablecoin settlement systems and card products.

Crypto might not replace these financial products, but instead make them even more powerful. Stablecoins gave the world programmable dollars, and financial products like MoMo and Virtual Visa give that money somewhere to go. Maybe traditional finance is not the enemy of crypto?

Time will tell if NoOnes is proved right and the Global South embraces virtual cards with the same energy that it embraced cryptocurrency.

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