Visa launched a new partner program designed to accelerate the introduction of innovative payment solutions globally and further drive the global migration from cash to electronic payments.

The Visa Ready Partner Program paves the way for mobile device manufacturers, technology partners, mobile network operators, and others, to easily navigate the complexities of the payments ecosystem, and to gain access to Visa IP, licenses, and best practices.

"The pace of innovation in the payments industry requires a new approach that ensures innovative payment methods can be tested, approved and commercialized quickly," says Jim McCarthy, global head of product, Visa Inc. "While it is critical that we ensure new payment methods are secure and reliable, it is equally important to allow great ideas to become new ways to pay and be paid."

The Visa Ready Partner Program is designed to provide innovators a path to ensure that devices, software, and solutions used to initiate or accept Visa payments are compatible with Visa's requirements, which may vary by country. It also provides a framework for the collaboration with Visa, as well as guidance and best practices to access the power of the Visa network. Mobile point-of-sale acceptance providers, mobile NFC-enabled device manufacturers, and chip and platform providers are among the stakeholders that are already playing a critical role in enabling new ways to pay and that will benefit from the Visa Ready Partner Program.

For financial institutions and merchants, the Visa Ready Partner Program will make it easier for them to adopt new, innovative payment methods that are approved by Visa and can help them drive business growth by expanding the use and acceptance of electronic payments globally. The program will use existing approval and certification processes from payments industry standards bodies and will rely on labs certified by EMVCo and the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SCC) to conduct testing of new payment solutions.

At launch, the Visa Ready Partner Program encompasses Visa's existing program for the approval of mobile NFC-enabled devices, as well as a new program to enable mobile point-of-sale acceptance solutions that meet local requirements. In addition, Visa has developed the Visa Ready symbol to identify payment devices and solutions approved for use with Visa payments.

As part of the Visa Ready Partner Program, Visa is paving the way for mPOS providers to accelerate the deployment of mobile point-of-sale acceptance solutions by:

·  Defining mPOS requirements and best practices to support the open development of commercially viable solutions and services, while upholding Visa's principles of security, brand integrity and interoperability.

· Providing applications, tools, and services to enable the development of mobile acceptance solutions compatible with magnetic-stripe, EMV-chip, and contactless-card payments.

· Making available open API (Application Program Interface) and SDK (Software Development Kit) to allow mPOS solutions providers in select markets to connect to Visa via a number of payment gateways, including CyberSource and Authorize.Net, acquired by Visa Inc. in 2010.

· Providing access to documentation and resources to guide partners and vendors through the Visa approval process.

·  Providing access to the Visa Ready symbol, collateral and brand-usage guidelines that can be used to market and promote Visa-approved mPOS solutions.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment