Visa wants to become a network of networks. Re-inventing the card is a means to do it. Can they pull it off? Let’s take a look.

"On May 15th Visa announced a set of features aimed at revolutionizing the card. This is a summary:

1. Visa Flexible Credential

— Allow users to access multiple accounts through a single (Visa) credential

— Example: Users can change between funding methods (debit, credit, BNPL, rewards points) and/or set preferences on their (mobile-banking) apps on when and how these will apply

— Already live in Asia – to launch with Affirm later this summer in the US

2. Tap to Everything

— Tap to Pay: Any device can now be a POS device

— Tap to Confirm: Easily authenticates identity when shopping online

— Tap to Add Card: Enhances security when adding card into a wallet or app

— Tap to P2P (person-to-person): Allows hashtag#money to be sent between family and friends

3. Visa Payment Passkey Service

— It confirms a consumer’s identity and authorizes online hashtag#payments with a quick scan of their biometrics (i.e. face or fingerprint)

— When shopping online, Visa passkeys replace the need for passwords or one-time codes, enabling more streamlined, secure transactions

— As its first deployment of passkeys, Visa is integrating the service into Click2Pay

4. Pay by Bank

— Visa will be using Open hashtag#Banking to enable account-to-account (A2A) payments

— Leveraging the acquisition of Tink, Visa expands now the functionality from Europe to the US

5. Visa Protect for A2A Payments

— Aiming at solving one of the biggest challenges that the adoption of Real-Time Payments brings about: fraud

— It applies AI to help mitigate fraud for A2A payments on RTP rails

— Live in Latin America and piloting in the UK

6. Data Tokens

— Data privacy combined with personalised shopping via tokenization

— Consumers will receive real-time, personalized offers from merchants’ AI models, whereas they retain control of their data

These are not one-off features but have been years in the making and align with a long-term strategy. Here’s what’s behind:

— Visa wants to ride the GenAI wave that is taking hashtag#ecommerce and payments by storm

— Empowering personalized experiences

— Visa takes center stage, whereas funding methods take a step back. It's all about Visa

— Tokenization, Tap2Pay and Click2Pay become the enablers behind Visa core products (credit, debit, prepaid)

— Rather than a threat, Open Banking is integrated in a multi-payments infrastructure, becoming part of the Visa value added services

— A further step for Visa to leverage global digital wallet adoption. All of the new features are powering mobile apps and digital wallets

— It’s all about the user experience (i.e. Tap2Everything)

— Interoperability, privacy and security combined

— Giving merchants, banks and consumers more flexibility and choice while remaining the driving force behind

Writer: Panag "

Author

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