Visa Signs Agreements with Leading mPOS Providers; Drives Adoption of Mobile Commerce Globally

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced that it has signed agreements with three leading mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) providers to enable merchants of all sizes to accept Visa payments using mobile technology. iZettle, SumUp and SCCP Group’s Swiff, will participate in the Visa Ready Program to have their mobile acceptance hardware and software tested and approved for use with Visa payments. Additionally, Visa announced that it has approved two new mPOS devices by AnywhereCommerce and Miura Systems to accept Visa payments1. The companies aim to displace cash and checks with electronic payments by making it easier for merchants and acquirers in key geographies2 to deploy secure mobile acceptance terminals.

“The Visa Ready Program is designed to provide innovators with an easy way to collaborate with Visa and gives merchants and consumers the peace-of-mind they need when transacting with a mobile phone,” said Jim McCarthy, Global Head of Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Visa Inc. “Mobile acceptance technology is precisely the kind of innovation we need to bring the benefits of electronic payments to more merchants, financial institutions and consumers around the globe.”

The growing popularity of mPOS acceptance solutions, especially among micro and small merchants, is helping to drive the migration from cash to electronic payments. From 2011 to 2012, the number of mobile point-of-sale terminals in operation worldwide increased 111 percent, from 4.5 million to 9.5 million, and it is expected to reach 38 million in 20173.

As part of the agreements, iZettle, SumUp and Swiff can have access to guidance, best practices, APIs (Application Program Interfaces) and SDKs (Software Design Kits) from Visa, including:

• Tools: Reference applications and tools to enable the ongoing development of magnetic stripe, EMV-chip (contact and contactless), and mobile acceptance solutions.
• Direct Connection to Visa: In select countries, Visa can enable iZettle, SumUp and Swiff to directly connect to Visa through the Visa POS Solutions platform or payment gateways such as CyberSource and Authorize.Net, the merchant platforms acquired by Visa in 2010. This will enable simplified processing of EMV-chip transactions.
• Value-Added Services: Visa can also provide the companies with access to value-added services, such as the ability for merchants to offer instant redemption of special offers at the point-of sale.
• Visa Ready Symbol: iZettle, SumUp and Swiff will be able to use the Visa Ready symbol to promote and market their devices once they have been approved for use with Visa payments. AnywhereCommerce and Miura Systems can already use the symbol to market their Visa approved devices.

According to a recent Javelin Strategy and Research report, in the United States alone, 70% of the total number of merchants – approximately 19 million – currently do not accept electronic payments and could benefit from mPOS solutions. When the spending at these merchants is added together, it represents an opportunity to migrate more than $1.1 trillion yearly from paper to electronic payments4.

“Mobile POS opens up the market to all merchant tiers, from the largest big box retailers to the smallest micro-merchants, which never would have dreamed of accepting card payments in the past,” said Mary Monahan, Executive Vice President and Research Director, Mobile, Javelin Strategy & Research. “Our research shows the attraction of mobile POS also extends to the other side of the counter: the majority of consumers view mobile checkout as very or extremely convenient.”

For more information about the Visa Ready Program, visit www.visa.com/ready.

About Visa Inc.

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 electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 30,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured 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 corporate.visa.com.

About AnywhereCommerce

AnywhereCommerce is a global mobile payments technology solutions provider with a portfolio of IP, including the defacto audio-jack patents. AnywhereCommerce offers a global suite of hardware, software and gateway solutions for secure online and mobile; card-present credit, debit, Chip (PIN and signature),and NFC transactions. Our Universal “aCommerce Platform“ designed for iOS, Android, Blackberry and WP8, provides white label and customized software applications for retail line-busting and mobile field services. Our PCI and EMVCo certified ecosystem provides optimal security, reliability, convenience and return on investment for merchants, networks, issuers, processors and acquirers. For more information, please visit www.AnywhereCommerce.com.

About iZettle

iZettle is payments made easy. With iZettle, anyone selling anything face to face can use smartphones and tablets to accept credit card payments and manage their business – and for a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. The social payments company’s services are always secure, fantastically fast to set up, and super simple to use. Founded in 2010, with headquarters in Stockholm, iZettle is now available in the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain and coming soon to more countries. To start accepting card payments today go to www.izettle.com.

About Miura

Miura Systems Limited (Miura) is a leading provider of innovative secure electronic payment hardware. Miura’s core competency is the design, certification and manufacture of industry certified hardware. Miura partners with Independent Software Vendors and Systems Integrators to provide rich and flexible payment solutions for retail, hospitality, financial, government and healthcare vertical markets globally.

About SumUp

SumUp empowers businesses to accept card payments in a cost-effective, secure and simple way. SumUp uses a portable card reader and an app available for iOS and Android, only taking a fee of 2.75% per transaction. SumUp is Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) and PCI-DSS certified, ensuring that payments are processed in accordance with the highest security standards. The company was founded in 2011 by Daniel Klein, Jan Deepen, Marc-Alexander Christ, Petter Made and Stefan Jeschonnek and has major offices in Berlin, London, Dublin, Madrid, Milan and Moscow. SumUp is currently available in Germany, UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, France and Russia – giving SumUp the largest international footprint of any mPOS company worldwide.

About Swiff

Swiff is the world's first white-label mobile payment platform that offers a patented, bank-standard security. Through Swiff's suite of m-commerce solutions (Swiff Pay, Swiff mWallet, Swiff Authentication, etc.) this innovative and unique technology provides financial institutions and merchants the tools to roll out mobile strategies that enable bank-level secured, authenticated transactions.

1 Miura Shuttle and AnywhereCommerce Nomad are Visa approved devices

2 Visa Ready Program requirements vary by region/country

3 Timetric, 2020 Foresight: Mobile Point of Sale Technology, April 2013, www.timetric.com

4 Javelin Strategy & Research, Mobile POS (Point of Sale) Business and Market Impact 2013: Emerging Technologies Expand Reach with Lower Cost, Disruptive Services, April 2013, www.javelinstrategy.com