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"Congress could make our jobs harder and worsen risks
to investors and to the financial system," by allowing
traditional financial institutions to play in the crypto
market, the White House stated. "In the past year, traditional
financial institutions' limited exposure to cryptocurrencies
has prevented turmoil in cryptocurrencies from infecting
the broader financial system. It would be a grave mistake
to enact legislation that reverses course and deepens the
ties between cryptocurrencies and the broader financial Association Shows:
system." Secure Technology Alliance
Crypto payments, for sure Payments Summit
Despite early assertions to the contrary, crypto and the Highlights: In 2023, the Secure Technology
underlying (blockchain) technology are not just a flash in Alliance and its U.S. Payments Forum will host
the pan with no implications for payments. There already the 15th annual Payments Summit alongside the
is plenty of interest among businesses and consumers to Forum’s Spring Member Meeting in Salt Lake
make payments using cryptocurrencies. In a 2022 survey City. The industry’s premier event, the Payments
of merchants, leading acquirer Paysafe found just 15 Summit is the most comprehensive cross-indus-
percent of respondents don't ever expect to accept crypto try gathering of card and payments professionals
payments; 17 percent said they already accepted crypto across all stakeholders.
payments.
The event will cover all things payments in-
Meanwhile, several ISOs now sell crypto payments as a cluding fintech, payment technology, mobile
lower-cost payment acceptance option for merchants. payments, NFC, contactless, transit payments,
mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) and more. Attend
Crypto payments can take different forms, the most the 15th annual Payments Summit and get the
popular of which seem to be credit and debit cards that insights you need to lead your organization’s
are tied to crypto wallets. Visa said in 2022 that 80 million payment initiatives and unlock new business
merchants, worldwide, were accepting crypto card
payments and that in the first quarter of 2022 cardholders opportunities.
made $2.5 billion in purchases using crypto-linked cards. When: Feb. 27 – March 2, 2023
That was about 70 percent of the company's crypto volume Where: Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City
for all of 2021. Creek Salt Lake City

The card brands are stepping up their crypto activities, Registration: web.cvent.com/event/9bf-
too. Recently, Visa said its crypto team was working on a ce3ec-e93c-4438-9f8e-c27b4eec6afe/summary
solution that would support automatic bill payments from
crypto wallets. "While blockchain technology and digital
assets are still in their infancy, we're digging into these More Show Dates:
emerging innovations to determine how they can impact
money movement today, and into the future," the Visa
team wrote in a December blog post. NEAA 2023
March 29 – 30, 2023, Boston
Mastercard introduced a Crypto Source program last
year, intended to help financial institutions deliver secure Smarter Faster Payments 2023
crypto and other digital asset services to customers. April 16 – 19, Las Vegas
"Our commitment is simple – to explore crypto and the ETA TRANSACT
underlying digital assets technology to support consumer April 24 – 26, 2023, Atlanta
choice in payments," said Jorn Lambert, chief digital
officer at Mastercard. SEAA 2023
June 12 – 14, 2023, Hollywood, Fla.
Bottom line: crypto is here to stay. Some particulars still
need to be worked out, notably how these assets will be MWAA 2023
regulated. But it's here and it has found its place in the July 19 – 20, 2023, Schaumburg, Ill.
payments landscape.
WSAA 2023

Patti Murphy is senior editor at The Green Sheet and self-described October 31 – November 2, 2023
payments maven of the fourth estate. She also co-hosts the Merchant Carlsbad, Calif.
Sales Podcast.

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