Worldcoin Wants to Be Your Bank by Replacing Your Wallet With a Visa Card

According to sources close to the matter, Tools for Humanity, the company behind this project, is negotiating with Visa to create a payment wallet

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is known for his ambitious projects that push the boundaries of technology and society. Now, rumors are swirling about a partnership between Tools for Humanity, the company behind the Worldcoin crypto project, and Visa to create a stablecoin payment wallet.

This alliance would combine the boldness of crypto with the traditional financial infrastructure of Visa, aiming to transform the World Wallet into a "mini-universal bank account."

The integration of several stablecoins and cryptocurrencies within the same wallet is an innovation that could revolutionize the way people manage their finances.

World Wallet: A Small Universal Bank Account

In the World Wallet, users could seamlessly convert dollars, euros, bitcoin, and other major cryptocurrencies. This fluidity would be facilitated by a Visa card, offering an unprecedented level of interoperability.

"The goal is to be able to load, send, and spend without borders," an internal source familiar with the matter revealed.

This technology would benefit the 1.7 billion unbanked people globally, who could easily access financial services, and everyday users, who could simplify their money management.

Rain, a partner backed by Coinbase and Circle, would provide the technical infrastructure for this project, having experience in facilitating crypto card programs for Optimism and Avalanche.

This strategy places Visa at the heart of a rapidly expanding ecosystem, which Altman is aiming to capitalize on to quickly gain market share.

"Other wallet providers should be worried," the insider added.

World Network recently launched World Chat, a messaging service that integrates crypto money transfers, further expanding the ecosystem.

The goal is to create a holistic experience where users can communicate and transfer funds seamlessly within the same space. The wallet is just one piece of a much larger puzzle that aims to fundamentally redefine our relationship with money.

However, Worldcoin's ambitions face challenges. The project's iris-scanning orb, which has been deployed in several countries since 2021, has raised concerns about privacy and consent.

The initiative, which pays people in return for scanning their irises with the orb, has been met with mixed reactions. Some critics view it as a method of collecting biometric data and exploiting people in emerging markets with the promise of crypto riches.

"Innovation should not be used to justify mass surveillance and predatory practices," warns one critic of the project.

Regulators will also be watching this partnership closely, especially in the context of stablecoins, which some see as a threat to monetary sovereignty.

Can Visa, which is accustomed to navigating the murky waters of compliance in the financial sector, manage to smoothly integrate this partnership in a way that satisfies everyone involved? Only time will tell.

This partnership also comes amid reports that Mastercard is exploring similar collaborations with major crypto platforms. Both payment giants are now engaged in a quiet race to integrate the technologies and user bases of the two worlds.

This partnership between OpenAI and Visa could mark a decisive turning point: the transition of crypto from a niche tech market to a true public tool. This evolution becomes even more likely with the involvement of major players like BlackRock, which contributes to demystifying bitcoin.