Despite the ups and downs in the cryptocurrencies and blockchain landscape, payment service provider, Visa has continued to explore digital assets payment mechanisms. The payments giant is aiming to ensure frictionless crypto and digital transactions for users across the globe. Previously, Visa was researching Account Abstraction to allow the automation of recurring transactions for self-custodial wallets.
However, as per the latest update, Visa is exploring the possibility of redesigning gas fees through Account Abstraction on Ethereum. The company has also published a blog on the ongoing research, Rethinking Digital Transactions with Account Abstraction. It digs deep into Ethereum account abstraction and ERC-4337.
The researchers wrote,
“Despite ongoing advancements, blockchains currently struggle to offer the same level of flexibility and user experience found in the mainstream digital payments ecosystem. Emerging technologies, however, can enhance the payments experience when transacting in digital currencies.”
Visa’s embrace of Ethereum account abstraction reflects its commitment to innovation and staying at the forefront of digital payments. By leveraging the power of Ethereum’s advanced features, Visa can explore new avenues for expanding its crypto payments ecosystem.
Visa Deploys Sets of Paymaster contracts on Ethereum Testnet
As per details, Visa has carried out the deployment of two sets of Paymaster contracts on the Ethereum Goerli Testnet to show how gas fees can be redesigned to ensure more user convenience. While ERC 4337 would allow owners to possess their smart contract account, Abstraction, and EVMs will allow more perks for the end users.
The researchers further elaborated on the role of a Paymaster,
“A Paymaster is an optional smart contract account capable of sponsoring transaction fees for Contract Accounts. Paymasters assess whether to accept a UserOperation during the verification stage and implement any required fee logic during the execution phase. By doing so, they can sponsor transaction fees for users and enable users to pay for gas in ERC-20 tokens, like dollar stablecoins.”
One key aspect of Ethereum’s account abstraction is the potential to enable smart contract interactions with multiple payment tokens. This opens up possibilities for Visa to support several cryptocurrencies. As a result, Visa can accommodate the evolving needs of consumers in the crypto space, fostering a more inclusive and diverse payment ecosystem.
The Head of Visa, Cuy Sheffield tweeted and showed his excitement over the deployment and development of Visa’s research. This also shows that the company is targeting long-term goals from this research campaign. Such developments can be deemed as a breakthrough for the digital payments space, as they look to redefine traditional mechanisms.
Excited to see Visa deploy our first paymaster smart contract on testnet as we continue to research and experiment with account abstraction and ERC-4337https://t.co/JJNWH2W2Ki https://t.co/RLRDx4yPXS
— Cuy Sheffield (@cuysheffield) May 17, 2023
Experts are of the view that Visa’s research can redesign the way digital payments are processed and it can be a major achievement for multiple reasons. It has the tendency to set a precedent for other such firms to follow.
