According to the findings of the Gartner researchers, centralized payment companies need to adapt in order not to be left behind by the growing demand for payments in stablecoins.
In a blog post, analysts from research firm Gartner write that while support for cryptocurrencies by centralized payment systems such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal helps them prepare for the transition to a future payment infrastructure, these companies’ revenue is based on the collection of transaction fees for clearing and settlement.
According to an article written by Gartner VP Avivah Litan, a fee strategy that contradicts the P2P blockchain model may be the factor that will lead to these firms lagging behind the stablecoin payment networks.
Litan classified such firms as “centralized decentralized finance” (CeDeFi). In this system, large companies with large amounts of BTC are innovating the DeFi space and implementing DeFi apps.
However, Litan points out that customers of such services are wondering if they will be required to pay centralized service fees to move cryptocurrencies across the blockchain, as this contradicts the original idea of the technology.
“The companies we communicate with are fairly skeptical about these services,” Litan wrote. “In the end, the revolution in blockchain payments is that they perform P2P transactions and eliminate intermediaries and their associated banking fees.”
However, the author of the article added that Gartner has yet to grapple with a number of proposals from the cryptocurrency industry for viable payments in stablecoins. The problem now is the lack of readily available apps and high fees – higher than what payment card operators or payment processors such as Square and PayPal offer.
Litan said payment card operators have the potential to provide a number of as-yet-defunct offers. For example, transparent payments in stablecoins in real time on the blockchain, and the protection of money that provides stablecoins in accounts with partner banks.
“Payment card operators will be able to generate income from value-added services as well as interest on reserves that provide stablecoins,” Litan said.
The analyst predicts that by 2022, the CeDeFi system may be ready for implementation in enterprises, if appropriate regulatory requirements are adopted. However, if traditional payment companies fail to adapt to support such services, booming cryptocurrency exchanges and other companies in the industry will bypass them.
“Will centralized financial companies move forward in the spirit of blockchain P2P payments, at the risk of cannibalizing their existing revenue streams based on a centralized clearing house?” – writes Litan. “The answer will depend on whether they have a valid choice.”
Recently it became known that Visa is developing a set of APIs for banks and financial institutions. They will be able to provide their clients with services for working with cryptoassets. In addition, the CEO of Visa spoke about plans for cryptocurrency payments during a teleconference on the company’s financial activities for the first quarter of 2021.
