The VISA Everywhere Initiative — A journey spanning 100 countries

India is fast emerging as the leader of consumer fintech adoption at 87% with rapidly changing demographics and consumer behavior. Coupled with the government’s initiatives and regulatory policies, India was the perfect environment for deploying the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI).

Started in 2015, the Visa Everywhere Initiative is a global program spread over six continents. More than 6000+ start-ups have benefitted and raised around $2.5 Billion in funding. But this is not the first time VISA has been active in the Indian fintech ecosystem.

The programs of

• The VISA Developer Program
• VISA Ready Program
• Fintech Fast-Track Program

were already launched to cater to the ever-growing needs of the Indian fintech ecosystem.

Also, the VEI initiative was explicitly customized to address the challenges of

• Digital issuance
• Onboarding of merchants
• B2B payments value chain transformation

The Indian Connect:

VEI started its roadshow in five cities across the country so that Fintechs can get acquainted with it. Right from early-stage to established Fintechs, everyone got themselves registered with the platform. This event was also held at Sambalpur, which was the “India first” idea for VEI, and it brought forth local fintech founders.

Loads of engaging conversations about how digital payments were used to transform business models across countries were discussed. It was when VEI became a platform that inspired Fintech, and #InspireIndianFintechs became the slogan.

This program also took on the mentorship stead and brought forth experts across VISA verticals. The experts mentored and offered technological support to the participating fintechs. Soon, the participating fintechs pitched their solutions with proof of concept. All this mentorship and demo was to be followed by a grand finale.

The Learnings:

VEI’s journey through India brought a treasure trove of mutual learning. But, it also put forth the challenge of organizing the right outreach for fintechs and arming them with relevant APIs. VISA overcame this obstacle by giving them access to the VISA developer portal and its APIs. Also, the global expertise of the mentors helped the participants leverage VISA tech and assets.

The Success:

The first edition of VEI turned out to be a huge success, with so many instances increasing the adoption of digital payments. It ignited a revamp of essential services to empowering micro-businesses along with support solutions.

The Obstacle:

The chronicles of VEI in India started in late 2019, but before they could get to the main event, COVID-19 had forced a nationwide lockdown. But it also brought forth solutions to tackle the post-COVID era.

Fintech’s future:

The Fintech ecosystem is all set to drive a radical change on the brink of customer experience and innovation. VEI will be the bridge that will connect legacy institutions and new-age Fintech, boosting financial inclusion. The customer will be the recipient of the best of both worlds. VISA will play a vital part in India’s journey of becoming a digitized economy.

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