Gonzalo Pérez del Arco, director of government affairs in southern Europe at card payment giant American Express, believes that making payments with crypto is currently unprofitable.
Perez’s comments came during an exclusive chat with Cointelegraph editor Aaron Wood at the European Blockchain Convention 2022, where he discussed American Express’s current blockchain-related plans and future prospects..
Pérez explained that several factors make cryptocurrency payments unfeasible in today’s market, such as high transaction costs and the willingness of merchants to accept digital payments. However, he noted that cryptocurrency payments could be a reality in the future, and that his company is willing to work in that direction.
He added that the firm is interested in crypto payments “Because it is the right direction that competitors in the market are taking.”
Pérez pointed out that American Express has made a strong bet on cryptocurrencies with investments and developments of various cryptocurrency use cases through its venture capital arm Amex Ventures. He cited the example of the recently launched cryptocurrency reward card in partnership with Abra, a cryptocurrency-focused financial firm.
He said the decision to launch a crypto reward card program rather than delve directly into crypto payments was due to the low risks involved.. He cited the upcoming MICA regulation in Europe that prohibits the tokenization of rewards as one of the key reasons that influenced his decision:
“If you see the MICA regulation that is about to be published in Europe where the tokenization of the reward logic program is something that is already contemplated. Membership rewards are relatively easy to do and low risk compared to other payment activities involving cryptocurrencies.”
While American Express is taking precautionary steps in its approach to cryptocurrencies, other card payment giants such as Mastercard and Visa have jumped into the expansion of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3.
Visa has been actively working on integrating crypto payment into its network, allowing millions of customers to directly spend their crypto at thousands of merchants around the world.. The payment processor giant reported $1 billion in crypto spending in the first quarter of 2021. The firm recently launched an immersion program to help creators build their business with NFTs.
Mastercard, meanwhile, has moved beyond crypto payments, recently announcing a direct purchase option for NFTs for 2.9 billion cardholders.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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