Visa launches platform for banks to launch and test tokenized assets

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Visa has introduced a new platform to help banks issue and test fiat-backed tokens, as reported by Blockworks. The Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) aims to create global standards for interactions between financial institutions exploring blockchain technology.

“We believe this creates a significant opportunity for banks to issue their own fiat-backed tokens on the blockchain, to do so in a regulated manner, and to allow their clients to access and participate in these capital markets in chain,” Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto. , shared.

Visa has been involved in central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots, including projects with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which recently announced its phase 2, and the Central Bank of Brazil.

In the Brazilian pilot, called Drex, Visa is participating in the pilot together with XP, one of the largest independent brokers in the country.

Experiences like the two mentioned above have led to increased commercial banks’ interest in tokenized assets.

Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) tested the VTAP sandbox this year, focusing on issuing, transferring and redeeming the token on a blockchain testnet. BBVA aims to launch an initial pilot with selected clients on the Ethereum blockchain in 2025.

The platform addresses various use cases, including real-time money movement between bank customers, interbank transfers in wholesale CBDC markets, and cross-border transfers for multinational corporations.

“Especially for multinational corporations that move money 24/7, right now the rails to do that are very limited,” added Catherine Gu, head of CBDC and tokenized assets at Visa.

Visa is working to create standards that ensure interoperability between financial institutions entering this space, addressing the current fragmentation of tokenization and smart contract approaches.

Global efforts

In particular, Gu told Blockworks that fragmentation is really a pain when it comes to transfers of tokenized assets between financial institutions located in different jurisdictions.

Interestingly, global payments infrastructure provider Swift also announced a platform for real-world asset utilization on September 11.

However, the effort is not aimed at tokenizing assets, but rather at creating a global rail line to foster interoperability between nations’ various CBDCs and RWAs.

The platform unveiled by Swift will allow asset buyers to pay for and receive their assets simultaneously through a delivery-versus-payment (DvP) and payment-versus-payment (PvP) model.

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