While cryptocurrencies have increasingly gained recognition as a (speculative) investment product, their usability for consumer payments remains very mixed. However, that may be changing, most recently with the news that Visa has settled its first transaction using the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin and PayPal is allowing US customers to pay with cryptocurrencies.

But how many of the leading payment processors and card networks are introducing support for payments in cryptocurrency?

While most of the top public companies have shown at least hesitant interest in the area, not everyone is behind the idea of cryptocurrencies being a viable method of payment for consumers. Adyen CEO Pieter van der Does, for example, said in February that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were better suited to being investment assets – and that the company saw no demand for them as payments among their customers.

Nevertheless, the tide seems to be turning. Mastercard, too, has announced that it will begin to allow companies to accept crypto payments on its network later this year, while both Worldline and Global Payments also have launched limited support. 

Whether this progresses to widespread acceptance and normalisation of cryptocurrencies as a payment method, however, remains to be seen. We’re still a long way from that being the case, and for it to happen, crypto will need to see a significant jump in support as a payment method.

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Lucy Ingham

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Lucy is Head of Content & Editor-in-Chief at FXC Intelligence, overseeing all content and taking deep dives into the trends and data driving changes in payments. Before joining FXC Intelligence, Lucy worked as a technology journalist and editor, interviewing CEOs and major names across enterprise technology, including fintech. She has an MSc in Development Anthropology from Durham University.