MUMBAI:
Visa (NYSE: V), the global leader in payments technology, today announced it is expanding its fast-track program to support fintechs in Asia Pacific that are developing the next generation of digital payment solutions. Already rolled out in Europe and Latin America, the fast-track program speeds up the process for fintechs to integrate their payment solutions with VisaNet, Visa’s global network.
Beginning this month, fintech companies based in Asia Pacific can onboard to Visa’s global network in as little as four weeks. The fast-track program has been tailored to Visa’s fintech partners’ needs, adapting to their realities and providing them with processes that are faster, and which include reducing the number of onboarding conditions. The program also links fintechs to platforms that are already certified by Visa and connects fintechs to sponsoring banks.
TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager for India & South Asia, Visa said, “The Asia Pacific region is home to some of the world’s most innovative fintech companies, and India has second highest global fintech adoption rate. These fintech companies are putting new payment experiences into the hands of consumers and businesses every day.”
“With continued government efforts to migrate to digital transactions, payment innovation is accelerating at an unprecedented pace in India. Visa’s goal is to make it faster for new solutions to be commercially available. We believe that working collaboratively across the industry is the best path to making tomorrow’s payment experiences a reality.”
Visa, as a network business, is in a prime position to help these fintech companies expand their reach globally, by making their solutions available on its network and by collaborating with its financial institution partners.
The fintech fast-track program provides a new commercial framework that includes access to Visa’s payment capabilities, reduced fees and streamlined processes. After successful launches in Europe in June and in Latin America in October, the program is now available to fintechs in Asia Pacific. The initial focus for Asia Pacific will be to support fintechs that are innovating in verticals such as wallets, instalments, and digital banking.
The fast-track program is one of several initiatives of several Visa programs designed to support fintech and startup companies. These include:
Investment: Visa continuously evaluates and invests in companies that have the potential to advance digital payments for our clients and their customers. Recent fintech investments globally have included Klarna, solarisBank, Marqeta and Paidy in Asia Pacific.
Partnership: Many payment platforms and fintechs are already collaborating with Visa globally to create new consumer and merchant experiences, including YellowPepper, NovoPayment, novae, Increase, Contis, EVRY, Jaja, Revolut and Wirecard.
Engagement: Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, a global innovation program that tasks startups with solving some of the most challenging issues in payments and commerce, has been running in Asia Pacific since 2016.
