As part of the Covid-19 economic recovery, Visa
is making great strides towards its goal to help eight million
small businesses across Europe to adapt and take advantage of
digital commerce.
Visa (NYSE: V) today announced more than 100 partners across
Europe have joined the Where You Shop Matters initiative to help
small business owners build digital capabilities and continue
serving their communities.
More than two million small firms across Europe have received
support since the launch of the program in summer 2020. The
announcement marks a major milestone in Visa’s commitment to help
eight million small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) in Europe –
and 50 million globally - to get online, adapt and future proof
their business.
Across Europe, Covid-19 continues to have a devastating impact
on small businesses. Research conducted by Visa revealed that 65%
of small businesses are concerned about the future of their
business.1 With many having to operate under restrictions and
lockdowns, small businesses are increasingly moving their
operations online and embracing digital payments. Visa data shows
that over 10 countries in Europe have seen a 20% increase in online
sales and eight in ten transactions are now contactless.
Hemlata Narasimhan, SVP, Merchant Sales and Acquiring Europe
at Visa said: “Small businesses play a crucial role in our
communities and many continue to operate under challenging
conditions brought on by Covid-19. We continue to be inspired by
the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit many small business
owners have shown, adapting how they do business to keep serving
their customers.
"We are proud that over two million small businesses have been
able to benefit from our partner initiatives. We remain committed
to continue working with our clients and partners towards an
economic recovery that keeps small businesses at the heart of our
communities.”
Since announcing its commitment to support eight million small
businesses across Europe in their digital transformation journey,
Visa has joined forces with banks, governments, commerce platforms
and technology partners to digitally enable small businesses.
Highlights include:
- Public Private Partnerships: In the Czech Republic,
Poland and Slovakia, Visa is working with governments to provide
small business access to contactless acceptance terminals and
software free of charge for the first 12 months. Governments in 29
countries have responded and raised the contactless limit to make
it easier to for consumers to pay touch free.
- New acceptance technology: ‘Tap-to-Phone’, a new Visa
technology that transforms mobile devices into payment terminals,
is helping thousands of small business owners to accept digital
payments in the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Turkey, Ukraine and the UK.
- New online tools: Setting up a business online can be a
daunting task. Visa is working with online platforms and digital
marketplaces so that small stores can set up an online presence
with minimal cost and hassle. These programmes have been launched
in several countries across Europe supporting thousands of local
businesses. Visa has also expanded its Practical Business Skills
platform, a global digital platform delivering free education
resources to help small and micro business (SMB) owners make
confident, informed decisions to grow their businesses through
expanded digital transformation.
- New banking tools: Small firms are also turning to
digital banking tools to help manage their finances during a
critical time for their business. In partnership with banks and
FinTechs across Europe, Visa has over 30 new business card
programmes that help small firms better manage their cashflow and
purchasing, while offering access to innovative, new business
banking tools.
- Community Engagement: Visa has expanded its Where You
Shop Matters campaign, calling on consumers to shop locally and
support small businesses in their communities. Examples of local
campaigns to galvanise support for local shops include Champion
Green (Ireland), Smart SME (Turkey) and Fiver Fest (UK).
Over 100 programmes have launched supported by industry partners
including Alpha Bank, Akbank, Axerve, Banca Sella, Banco Santander,
BeeDigital, CEC Bank, the Co-Operative bank,
Clickandcollection.com, Fiserv, Fruugo, iCard- myPOS, Israel Credit
Cards, Juni, National Bank of Greece, Tyl by NatWest, Nexi,
Orderbird, Oma Savings Bank Plc, Payplug, Piraeus Bank,
ShopAppy.com, Shopify, Viva Wallet, WorldLine amongst others. These
initiatives have helped provide more than two million small firms
with the tools, capabilities and resources to adapt, trade online
and meet consumer demand for digital payments.
“Banca Sella is actively committed in supporting SMBs in their
digital journey, offering smart and effective solutions to allow
them to scale their business to the next level thanks to digital
payments,” said Rosy Alaia, Head of Electronic Payment Systems,
Banca Sella. “During the current pandemic we’ve seen a strong
shift towards digital payments but is still plenty of opportunities
for Italian small merchants to further improve their digital
acceptance, matching new consumer trends and expectations of smart
and alternative way to pay. We believe we can achieve this
objective also thanks to the collaboration with partners like
Visa.”
“Fiserv enables payments for millions of businesses across a
wide range of sectors in Europe and globally, and we have seen
firsthand how the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled small businesses
to seek out technology that enables them to operate in new, more
digital ways,” states Nigel Motyer, senior vice president of
Global Business Solutions for Fiserv in EMEA. “Payments are an
integral part of any small business, and we’re proud to partner
with companies like VISA to equip businesses to meet customers’
demands for secure and convenient digital payment options.”
“For Worldline, specific customer insight and solid partnerships
are key elements that ensure we continuously bring relevance and
value to our merchants”, says Roger Niederer, Chief Market
Officer Merchant Services at Worldline. “Together with
strategic partners, such as Visa, we can broaden and deepen the
reach of electronic payments in a variety of markets and verticals,
work on future-oriented omni-channel solutions and help increase
the conversion of sales.”
Positive start but more work to be done
With many economies in Europe beginning 2021 with further
restrictions, Visa is enlisting the help of its network and calling
on more partners to support its initiatives aimed at supporting
small businesses with the aim of digitizing millions of small firms
in this crucial period for recovery.
For more information, please visit
https://www.visa.co.uk/where-you-shop-matters.html
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device,
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
1 Visa European SME Research in partnership with Dynata (January
2021)
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Jemma Magrath jemma.magrath@grayling.com
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