Credit card giant Visa has launched an NFT creation program in an effort to bring small businesses into the digital economy.
“We have seen rapid growth in the NFT ecosystem over the past year,” Guinea pig sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. "We believe that NFTs represent a new form of electronic commerce."
The idea of a small business is evolving from traditional "traditional mom-and-pop stores" to include other independent businesses with creators and entrepreneurs who want to focus on digital and take advantage of new tools like NFT, Sheffield said. .
The year-long immersion program, Visa Creator Program, will bring together a global group of creators, including artists, musicians, fashion designers and filmmakers, with the ability to build their businesses with NFTs.
There is no "cap" on the number of creators for this group and all members will have access to Visa clients and a wide network of mentors, Sheffield said.
"Big retailers and brands ask every day how they can get involved." Sheffield said. "What makes us so excited about NFTs is that we think it lowers the barrier to entry for people to build a business and sell online."
The traditional way of selling physical goods has a lot of logistics involved, which can be a big challenge for small businesses and individuals to compete and grow. “NFTs allow someone who is creative, who is an artist, who is talented, to produce a good completely digitally,” Sheffield said.
Micah Johnson, former Major League Baseball player and current artist behind Aku, was one of the first participants in the group that Visa has promoted. The company had previously announced the partnership in October 2021, but did not reveal that he was involved with the show at the time.
Johnson's Aku NFTs are based on a character created by Johnson after hearing his nephew ask, "Can astronauts be black?"
His 10-part collection consists of black astronauts posing in a variety of items, from helmets covered in spaghetti and meatballs to a simple and elegant white helmet. Aku NFTs range in price from $1,790 to $37,000, depending on their websites.
"I saw firsthand how NFTs can help artists," Johnson said. “I was literally painting in my garage with this idea, this mission, and I have turned it into a global company. I would not be in the position I am in now without NFTs.”
Visa is no stranger to the crypto community and has been its advocate for the past 12 months. He previously made headlines for buying a popular CryptoPunk NFT in August 2021, and Sheffield has saying that the purchase would not be the company's only NFT to its credit.
In addition to collecting NFTs, Visa has built its crypto team and, in December 2021, launched a crypto advisory practice to help clients and partners consider a deep dive into the space.
“We think that [NFTs] are a critical tool that can reshape commerce and create new opportunities,” Sheffield said. “But there are still a lot of questions about how it evolves. What blockchains to use? How do you stand out? How do you reach customers? And that's why we want to learn as much from creators as we think they can learn from us."
In the future, Visa wants to integrate into these crypto technologies to follow the future of commerce. “We are incredibly excited about NFTs,” Sheffield said. "We want every [NFT] to be able to accept Visa cards because we think NFTs will exist on many different networks."
As for the next steps? Visa wants to make buying an NFT as easy as buying any other product online.
“What we found is that the current experience can be quite difficult and requires several steps to go to an exchange, buy crypto and transfer it to another wallet. … It is very difficult for new consumers to enter the space space,” Visa said.
In addition to this program, the credit card company is looking at other ways to make NFTs more accessible for consumers to purchase and access. There are a "series of initiatives" Visa is working on to make it easier for consumers to enter the space, but they did not reveal a timeline for future NFT-focused product or service launches.
“Small businesses and commerce play a very important role in building communities, in towns and neighborhoods around the world. It's a friendly face you see at a local hair salon or bakery. And now what we're seeing is creators are using commerce and NFTs to create communities of like-minded people around the world who come together because they share a common set of beliefs or ideals."
