With the US region launch, merchants and clients in Africa should be happy even if the firm has not announced any such move into the continent. However, Africa will not be forgotten for long.
According to Charlie Scharf, chief executive officer, Visa Inc. “As people around the world spend more time and money online, particularly using mobile devices, they are demanding a fast, secure and frictionless way to shop using the payment cards they already know and trust. Through insights provided by our cardholders, financial institutions and merchant partners, we designed an online payment experience that continues to deliver on this promise, bringing us closer to the simplicity and speed of the ‘swipe’ in the online world.”
Data from comScore reports that in the first quarter of 2014, 47 percent of total eCommerce spending in the United States was done with a Visa product due to security, ease of use and loyalty benefits. Visa Checkout promises just that.
Prompted as an easy and secure way to pay online, shoppers can use any Visa debit or credit card or even other branded cards to make purchases from a PC, mobile device or within a mobile app. Once enrolled, shoppers simply provide their username and password to complete the payment process — without ever having to leave the merchant’s website. Visa Checkout replaces the V.me by Visa service, first introduced in 2012.
“People aren’t looking for another wallet – they just want a simpler way to pay online, particularly on mobile devices, and that’s exactly what we designed Visa Checkout to do,” says Sam Shrauger, senior vice president, digital solutions, Visa Inc. “And for merchants and financial institutions, we’ve made Visa Checkout easy to implement and added advanced security features to help reduce the risk of fraud – all with the strength of the Visa brand behind it.”
Visa will drive broad awareness for Visa Checkout through a multi-million dollar advertising campaign, launching today in digital and social channels, and on television later this year. The campaign will feature participating merchants and a broad range of consumer offers and promotions. Top US payments card issuers, community banks, and credit unions are all participating in Visa Checkout.
A new mobile SDK is also available, allowing developers to quickly build and implement a native in-app checkout experience for iOS and Android-based devices.