Partnership will enable Visa clients and partners to offer innovative, digital-first travel payment solutions including multi-currency wallets and real-time notification of FX rates
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and Currencycloud, an enterprise-class payments platform, today announced a partnership to drive further innovation in cross-border and travel payments. The overall agreement is aligned with Visa’s broader mission to help people make secure and seamless digital payments, both at home and while travelling.
Visa’s clients, banking, and FinTech partners will now have the option to use Currencycloud’s cloud-based payments platform to offer customers in-demand services like multi-currency wallets and real time notifications on foreign exchange transactions. Visa’s account holders will be able to better manage their travel abroad through improved visibility and control of their money.
“Today, 1 in 5 payments is a cross-border transaction, whether that’s from a consumer travelling internationally or buying from an international seller online” said Charlotte Hogg, CEO, Europe, Visa. “Our goal is to continue to help our clients meet this increasing demand for slick, simple and more convenient cross-border payments and make it easier for Visa cardholders to manage their money when travelling. Our partnership with Currencycloud will empower our clients to do just that by offering an innovative, competitive, digital-first solution that ultimately gives consumers and cardholders more control over digital payments – at home and abroad.”
“Currencycloud exists to take the complexity out of international payments” says Mike Laven, CEO of Currencycloud. “Banks are under pressure to provide better user experiences in an increasingly connected world, and our partnership with Visa will enable us to deliver that on a grand scale. Our leading APIs give control and visibility of international transactions; that power combined with the reach of Visa will enable a new generation of consumers to benefit from a better experience when spending abroad.”
The market for international payments continues to grow and by 2020, cross-border ecommerce is expected to reach USD $900 billion in value, accounting for over a fifth of the global ecommerce market. Visa and Currencycloud’s partnership will focus on offering solutions that remove the barriers to how, where, and when consumers can pay abroad, giving travellers peace of mind when they use their Visa card.
The initial focus of the partnership will involve making Currencycloud’s developer-friendly platform available to enable the pre-purchase of travel currency, or the real-time notification of FX rates when a cardholder uses their Visa card overseas.
This is the latest partnership for Visa with an innovator within the payments ecosystem. As a global payments technology company, Visa continually evaluates technologies of all kinds – especially those that have the potential to advance digital payments for Visa’s clients and their customers. Recently, Visa has announced partnerships with Minna Technologies, Bankable, Klarna and solarisBank among others.
ENDS
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
About Currencycloud
Currencycloud’s technology is unlocking the global economy for payment platforms of the future. Its B2B cross-border payments infrastructure enables businesses to deliver an awesome experience to their customers, through one simple and flexible API connection. Launched in 2012, Currencycloud is based in London and is regulated in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, and has processed more than $50bn to over 180 countries. Currencycloud works with banks and fintechs globally including Starling Bank, Standard Bank South Africa and Klarna. www.currencycloud.com
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Media Contacts
Visa
Renny Popoola
renny.popoola@visa.com
P: 020 7795 5256
M: 07483 404 204
or
Currencycloud
Matt Rowntree
matt.rowntree@currencycloud.com
M: 020 3837 3687
McKinsey, A vision for the future of cross-border payments (2018)
