Visa Opens Payment System to Developers
In a move that embraces technological innovation, American credit card giant Visa is opening its payment system to developers.
Because of the size and prestige of the company, the Visa Developer program is already making waves in the financial technology sector.
For some time now, traditional banks and other financial services companies have attempted to grab the attention of the tech sector with lavish capital raising rounds and access to industry resources.
Now Visa is appealing directly to the developers themselves.
The Visa Developer program will provide developers with access to some of Visa’s top level payment networks to see how the network runs first-hand.
Visa has recognized that it can be difficult for young companies to compete with established corporations. The company hopes fintech firms can utilize its vast array of resources to provide the next level of innovation in the payment sector.
Visa has laid out a handful of key areas of focus for developers, including P2P payments, secure payment platforms for brick-and-motor retailers, consumer specific technologies, identification and authentication and advanced security services.
So far, many big names have already joined the Visa developer network, including National Australia Bank, Capital One, TD Bank, US Bank and Scotiabank.
The program will also focus on internationalization, with collaboration efforts between clients and developers in major cities across the globe.
“Visa Developer represents not only a new access point to our network, but a new distribution platform for Visa products and services globally,” said Visa’s CEO Charlie Scharf.