Cryptocurrencies Will Be More Accessible to First Boulevard Customers, a Neobank Focused on Financial Empowerment for the U.S. Black Community
Visa is partnering with digital-native neobank First Boulevard, the company announced in a press release yesterday. First Boulevard’s mission is to build generational wealth for Black Americans. Through this collaboration with Visa, the neobank will enable customers to buy, hold, and trade digital assets by integrating Visa’s crypto API pilot—a new suite of application programming interfaces (APIs).
Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Product Officer, explained: “We decided to make Visa the bridge between digital currencies and our global network of 70 million merchants, and today we are the leading network for crypto wallets, with 35 crypto platforms choosing to issue with Visa. Through this pilot program, we want to extend Visa’s value to our neobank customers and financial institutions, providing an easy bridge to crypto assets and blockchain networks.”
The partnership will see First Boulevard launch its own Visa debit card, featuring benefits such as a cash-back program tailored to the U.S. Black community and access to pay up to two days early. The neobank will also introduce budgeting tools and educational resources designed to make cryptocurrencies and other emerging asset classes more approachable.
Donald Hawkins, First Boulevard’s CEO and president, commented: “First Boulevard’s mission is to help Black America grow wealth. We are excited to partner with the leader in digital payments, Visa, and leverage their crypto APIs to provide another channel for the Black community to access cryptocurrencies as a new asset class that can help them build wealth.”
This announcement is part of Visa’s broader digital currency strategy, in which the company is exploring how financial institutions can use technology to access blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystems. The digital custody infrastructure for this effort is provided by Anchorage, a Visa partner and federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States.
Diogo Monica, co-founder and president of Anchorage, added: “Visa’s crypto API pilot is a meaningful step forward for both the proliferation of cryptocurrencies as an asset class and for accessibility and inclusion in payments and financial services. We’re excited to work with Visa and First Boulevard to build a safer, fairer financial infrastructure of the future.”
Following the pilot program, which is expected to conclude by year-end, additional Visa customers are anticipated to adopt the APIs to integrate crypto-focused features into their own product offerings.