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You might know World Network as Worldcoin, that crypto project from OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, focused on digital identity. Well, they’re making headlines again! Word is, they’re in talks with Visa. The goal? To bring card features to their self-custody крипто wallet. CoinDesk reported the news on Monday, citing a source close to the discussions.

Interestingly, this comes after reports from Bloomberg last April mentioned World Network was exploring partnerships with big names like PayPal and even OpenAI itself. The aim then was to expand their tech and how they operate.

So, what’s the big deal with Visa? If this partnership works out, World Wallet could plug right into Visa’s massive global network of merchants. Imagine the possibilities! This collaboration could pave the way for cool fintech and foreign exchange (FX) applications, smoother ways to move between traditional and crypto money (“fiat on-and-off ramps”), and even stablecoin payments across all those Visa-accepting stores.

It sounds like Tools for Humanity, also run by Altman, isn’t just dreaming about this. They’ve reportedly reached out to card issuers, signaling they’re seriously looking to make this happen. They’re also talking to crypto card experts like Rain. Rain, by the way, is backed by Coinbase and Circle and is known for making on-chain Visa cards work for projects like Optimism and Avalanche.

Speaking of Rain, they had some good news of their own on Monday. They announced a successful $24.5 million funding round, led by Norwest Venture Partners, with some big names like Galaxy Digital, Coinbase Ventures, and Lightspeed also jumping in.

Remember Worldcoin’s iris-scanning tech? World Network is building on that, using it to create unique biometric IDs for users. Combine this with their wallet, and you’ve got the potential for really secure, identity-linked financial services that cut out the traditional middleman – something not many others are offering right now.

This Visa development comes hot on the heels of World Network launching their World Chat app on March 7th. This mini-app is all about secure chats between verified users within the World Network – keeping things private and trusted.

World Chat is still in Beta, but it’s already bringing together contacts, the World ID protocol, and the World App wallet for fully encrypted messaging.

With World Chat and crypto transfers already live, and now these big ambitions for FX trading and stablecoin payments, World Network seems to be aiming for a pretty ambitious goal: to be your all-in-one hub for finance, communication, and proving you are who you say you are online.

As one source put it to CoinDesk, their aim is “basically to turn World Wallet into a mini bank account for anyone who wants it.”

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