Visa Seems Beyond Cards At B2B, QR

Visa, which has strengthened its position in the aftermath of Mastercard's prohibition, is moving beyond plastic.
Visa Seems Beyond Cards At B2B, QR

Visa, which has strengthened its position in the aftermath of Mastercard's prohibition, is moving beyond plastic. Its primary focus is on embedding cards for use in QR code payments and any other business-to-business payments that do not utilize cards. The startup is collaborating with Paytm to enable consumers to pay using credit cards by scanning QR codes.

India is one of Visa's Global Focus, Priority, and Strategic Markets

Visa's Global Focus

"Because of the overwhelming potential for hyper-growth, India is one of Visa's global focus, priority, and strategic markets." However, many things must be in place before we can realize our full potential," group national manager Sandeep Ghosh told TOI.

Visa sees the most promise in India in providing value-added payment services to businesses that are rapidly shifting to online platforms for transactions with suppliers and distributors. For low-value payments, the business is also focusing on facilitating card payments over the current QR code network. The decision comes as the company pushes for the development of contactless or NFC-based payment solutions.

Visa has Spent Millions of Dollars in India to Establish Data Storage

Image Credit: Getty Images

Visa has spent millions of dollars in India to establish data storage infrastructure, giving them an advantage over Mastercard, which faces limits on onboarding new clients. "If we define the universe as the world of cards, there is currently a circumstance in which our competitor is unable to issue new cards."

But that is not how we view things. We see the world quickly digitizing, with many payments that are not on the card rails. "The possibility is to embed cards for various payment flows occurring in the country," Ghosh explained.

Visa Sees an Opportunity to Supply Card Solutions

Traditionally, card payments for businesses have been restricted to payments to businesses that already take cards. Visa sees an opportunity to supply card solutions as more firms use e-commerce platforms to engage with suppliers and vendors.

"There are other structures that may be utilized to pay them, with minimum change management from the provider." They continue to get money straight into their accounts, so they do not need to put up PoS (point-of-sale) equipment," Ghosh explained. What has aided in the onboarding of businesses for card acceptance is the availability of fintech that can do it quickly.

According to Ghosh, contactless payments increased during the epidemic, but card control restrictions require the cardholder to specifically allow contactless. Despite being introduced in India six years ago, contactless payments are still only used by 16% of the population.

Whereas in nations like Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, contactless transactions have increased to well over 85 percent, owing to the use of cards in public transportation.

"We are working with partners to make cards a payment option when scanning a QR code." This would allow them to use the card immediately to make the payment rather than first using the card to fill your wallet, making it a two-step procedure," Ghosh explained. Credit cards may now be utilized to make payments by scanning Bharat QR codes.

Visa Seems Beyond Cards At B2B, QR
ATM Cash Withdrawal Is Now Possible With QR Code

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
Since independence
www.sinceindependence.com