Yesterday, Visa announced the launch of the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP). According to the company, this new platform allows banks and financial institutions to integrate blockchain technology by issuing and managing fiat-backed tokens. This helps bridge the gap between traditional currencies and blockchain networks.
What is VTAP?
VTAP is a B2B solution made for financial institutions. It helps the financial institutions mint, burn and transfer fiat-backed tokens such as tokenized deposits and stablecoins.
“Visa has been at the forefront of digital payments for nearly sixty years, and with the introduction of VTAP, we are once again setting the pace for the industry,” said Vanessa Colella, Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships, Visa. “We’re excited to leverage our experience with tokenization to help banks integrate blockchain technologies into their operations.”
Visa’s experience with digital payments and tokenization is important in making it easier for banks to bring their fiat currencies on-chain and this helps make a tokenized world more accessible.
Benefits of VTAP
Easy Integration: VTAP makes it easy for banks to issue and manage fiat-backed tokens using Visa’s APIs. These APIs allows financial institutions to create their own blockchain-based services without a complete overhaul of their existing infrastructure.
Programmability: Since it uses smart contracts, banks are able to automate a number of financial processes such as managing complex loans to enabling customers buy tokenized assets. Smart contracts powered by VTAP can improve how banks handle transactions and this makes the process faster and more efficient.
Interoperability: Visa also sees interoperability across multiple blockchains as part of VTAP. The banks it works with will be able to interact with different blockchain ecosystems using one API connection.
Partners: BBVA’s Role in VTAP
Visa has already partnered with BBVA to the VTAP platform. BBVA has been experimenting with core VTAP functions including issuing and transferring bank tokens on blockchain networks. Live programs are expected by 2025.
“We are proud to continue spearheading the exploration of tokenized solutions with Visa through its VTAP platform,” said Francisco Maroto, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, BBVA. “This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our exploration of the potential of blockchain technology and will ultimately help enable us to broaden our banking services and expand the market with new financial solutions.”
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