In today’s evolving payments landscape, fintechs of all shapes and sizes are seeking “to carve out their unique niche,” according to an update from Visa (NYSE: V).
Fintech builders need ways to differentiate their various product offerings – and embedding payment capabilities has proven to be “a successful strategy for speeding up transactions.”
Recognizing this, Visa is expanding its Fintech Fast Track program “beyond card issuance to connect members to Visa’s real-time1 money movement platform, Visa Direct.”
Additionally, Visa Consulting & Analytics has “developed capabilities to support key needs of Fintech Fast Track partners.”
Vanessa Colella, SVP, Global Head of Innovation and Digital Partnerships, Visa, said:
“Fintechs are a vital growth engine for the payments industry, and Visa is committed to supporting their progress. The enhanced Fast Track program offers fintechs personalized tools and resources to innovate and excel. We believe this will be a gamechanger that will catalyze new growth opportunities within this community, and further our mission to uplift everyone, everywhere.”
With the expansion of Fast Track to include Visa Direct, fintechs can now “launch programs through their financial institutions to enable transfers to eligible cards, bank accounts, and wallets around the world.”
Visa Direct supports multiple use cases, “such as person-to-person payments and account-to-account transfers, business and government payouts to individuals or small businesses, and merchant settlements and refunds.”
It provides a single point of access and reach “to over 8.5 billion endpoints capability, including 3+ billion cards, 3+ billion accounts and 2.5+ billion digital wallets.”
The Fintech Fast Track program offers partners “a solution from Visa’s menu of options,” including:
- Merchant Search API: allows businesses to search for information about a merchant.
- Visa Stop Payment Service: enables financial institutions to stop payment on a specific check or range of checks.
- Visa Risk Manager solution: helps financial institutions manage and mitigate payment risks. The program now provides a 12-month free trial of this solution.
- Fintech Fast Track partners now also have the opportunity to work with the Visa Consulting & Analytics team on one project from a curated selection of offerings, specifically designed to help early stage fintechs grow their portfolio.
Additionally, the program now “includes the opportunity for up to $100K worth of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Activate credits for cloud consumption, business support, and personalized content and offers.”
This enhanced and more personalized approach “ensures fintechs receive maximum value from the Fast Track program.”
Over the last year, Visa has “signed 42 new clients to Fintech Fast Track in North America.”
As covered, Visa is focused on digital payments, “facilitating payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories.”
For more details, check here.