SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today announced plans to offer merchants a more streamlined connection to Visa's global network, allowing them to more easily accept the next generation of payment products, offer real-time rewards, redemptions and discounts and other value-added services.

The new program is designed to allow Value Added Resellers (VARs), Acquirers and other payment gateway providers serving merchants with payment solutions to directly connect to VisaNet, Visa's global processing network, via a flexible XML-based API that is currently in development and expected to be available by summer 2011. This is intended to expedite the delivery of new services and offer merchants a more streamlined payment processing solution, as well as provide direct access to Visa's secure, reliable, and information-rich processing services.

"More and more merchants are relying on the comprehensive solutions offered by value added resellers and acquirers for their payments processing needs," said Darren Parslow, Global Head of Processing, Visa Inc. "By directly connecting these entities to Visa we can positively impact not only VARs and acquirers but also merchants and consumers. The bottom line is that Visa is working to simplify commerce across a broad range of transaction environments, including ecommerce, mobile, social commerce and point-of-sale."

How It Works

Visa's new program, which is expected to be available to qualified partners in the third quarter of 2011, is designed to allow VARs, Acquirers and service providers to directly connect to VisaNet through a robust, flexible, information-based API using XML. This will enable them to manage and certify to one connection for all payment types, and establish a direct communications access channel for payments and information passing through the processing hub of Visa. This can benefit VARs, acquirers and other payment providers by enabling them to offer merchants access to advanced, real-time processing services and information-based products offered by Visa.

The new program is intended to benefit VARs, acquirers and merchants in four major areas:

• Simplified Processing: By reducing the number of touch points, simplifying communications between the point of sale and VisaNet, and using the latest technology standards for secure data delivery, payments and information can be processed with speed and reliability while also allowing merchants to implement new payment products and services quickly and efficiently.
• Innovation: The program is designed to remove barriers to innovation and help merchants accept a new generation of payments solutions that will replicate the ease, reliability and security of Visa point-of-sale payments within traditional and digital ecommerce, mobile commerce and burgeoning social networking commerce environments. For example, merchants working with VARs participating in the program will be better able to easily implement support for Visa's secure cross-channel digital wallet, which was announced earlier today, and is expected to offer a range of customized mobile payment services that address the specific requirements of geographic markets around the world.
• Business Growth: For VARs the program can enhance their existing merchant relationships and enable the creation of new relationships through new value-added services made possible by the program. Visa's new API network connections will allow merchant to integrate data into the payments process and over time offer new solutions for loyalty, discounts, rewards, recognition that may help them attract and retain customers. Acquirers can take advantage of technology investments being made by Visa and help merchant enhance relationships with their customers.
• Enhanced Security: Visa is also developing an end-to-end encryption solution to support PCI compliance and help protect customer data in new and emerging payment channels, such as ecommerce and mobile.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks--VisaNet--that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the terms "will," "expected," "intended," "plans," and similar references to the future. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the timing, impact, content, reliability, acceptance, implementation and overall success of the new connections to Visa's network and related programs. By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as of the date they are made, (ii) are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees of future performance and (iii) are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results could differ materially and adversely from those forward-looking statements because of a variety of factors, including:

The impact of new laws, regulations and marketplace barriers, particularly those affecting, ecommerce, mobile payments, consumer privacy, and data use and security; macroeconomic factors, such as global economic, political, health environmental conditions; a decline in the growth of ecommerce and mobile payments activity; inability to keep pace with the innovations of competitors including in the ecommerce and mobile payments areas; industry and systemic developments, such as:

• Competitive pressure on pricing;
• Bank and merchant consolidation and their increased focus on costs;
• Adverse changes in our relationships and reputation;
• Disruption of our systems or the inability to process transactions efficiently;
• Account data breaches and increased fraudulent and other illegal activity involving our systems; and
• Issues arising at Visa Europe, including failure to maintain interoperability between our systems;

and the other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on such statements. Unless required to do so by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statement because of new information or future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE: Visa Inc.

Press Only:
Visa Inc.
Matthew Flegal, +1-415-932-2564
globalmedia@visa.com
or
Fleishman-Hilliard
Kim Coutts, +1-619-239-7723
kcoutts@fleishmanhilliard.com