25% of Small Businesses in 9 Countries Plan to Accept Crypto Payments in 2022 (Visa Study)

According to a recent survey conducted by the payment processor giant Visa, almost a quarter of the participants across nine nations said they intend to embrace digital currencies as a form of payment sometime this year. Furthermore, 13% of consumers in these countries predicted retail stores will begin allowing crypto settlements in the following 12 months.

‘People Are Feeling More Confident with Crypto’

As reported by Reuters, Visa surveyed 2,250 small business owners from nine countries across the globe, including the United States of America, Canada, Brazil, and Singapore. Per the results, every fourth participant plans to embrace bitcoin or some alternative coins as a payment method before the end of the ongoing year.

It is worth observing the percentage rate in the different countries, though. Visa estimated that over 30% of the small business merchants based in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brazil intend to enable cryptocurrency options to clients in the coming months. In contrast, 19% of those in the USA and just 8% in Canada plan to do the same.

The payment processing organization also interviewed 1,000 American adults who are not in charge of companies, along with 500 more people from each other country. Nearly 13% of those 1,500 individuals anticipate retail stores to begin offering digital asset payments in 2022.

Jeni Mundy – Visa’s Global Head of merchant sales and acquiring – said many owners of businesses worldwide view the embracement of new forms of payments as “fundamental” to their companies’ growth. She added that accepting cryptocurrencies also come as a “natural evolution” for many smaller firms.

“I think more people are feeling more confident with crypto,” Mundy concluded.

Adoption Blossomed in 2021

It is safe to say that cryptocurrency adoption flourished in the past 12 months as numerous giant companies allowed customers to pay with digital assets, should they be willing to do so. Such examples include Croatia’s and Mexico’s largest supermarket chains – Konzum and Elektra.

At one point last year, even the major electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla started accepting bitcoin payments for its cars. However, the company halted the initiative a few months later due to environmental concerns.

Arguably the most significant example of such adoption in 2021 was El Salvador’s decision to officially recognize bitcoin as legal tender inside its borders.