Visa Gives Blockchain A Nod In End Of Year Summary

Visa Europe recently released an end-of-the-year

entitled "Why 2015 Was The Year For Payments" in which the company reflected on the changing landscape of financial technology and announced its plans going forward into the new year. The post commented on the evolution of fintech and noted that blockchain would likely continue to be a huge part of the payments space in the future.

Many have called blockchain one of the most important technological advancements of the decade, and this year saw the ledger-like technology that bitcoin runs on gain even more notoriety as more and more financial institutions acknowledged the benefits of a blockchain system.

was no exception, the firm partnered with Epiphyte, a US-based firm that helps finance companies use distributed ledgers like blockchain in order to facilitate international payments.

In the year-end summary, Visa pledged to continue exploring the potential for blockchain within its operations, saying that lower fees and a more streamlined process makes blockchain an ideal way to send and receive payments. The firm noted that although bitcoin tended to grab headlines over the past year, it was blockchain that emerged as an industry game-changer.

Visa also pointed out that both blockchain and bitcoin have a long way to go before becoming the norm in the financial industry, saying that a lack of trust is likely to be the biggest obstacle. The credit-card company also noted that applying blockchain to real-world situations would also present a significant challenge, but that the firm is hoping to continue working toward developing the technology in ways that will revolutionize the payment space.