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Visa Launches Commerce Network to Drive Merchant Sales and Deliver New Cardholder Benefits

V | January 29, 2016

Uber uses Visa Commerce Network to launch offers in 10 U.S. markets

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced the launch of Visa Commerce Network, a new way for merchants to create online and in-app commerce experiences to acquire new customers, drive loyalty and increase sales with relevant offers. Visa Commerce Network is built on the world’s largest electronic payment network, VisaNet, and can be easily utilized by merchants through a variety of simple, commerce application programming interfaces (APIs).

Visa Commerce Network works by connecting transactions between two merchants. For example, a hotel can provide its customers with offers from local restaurants using Visa Commerce Network, and with cardholder consent, track engagement and even issue rewards. Qualifying purchases are recognized at the point of sale and rewards can be seamlessly applied to cardholder accounts – eliminating the need for coupons or redemption schemes.

To-date, more than a dozen leading businesses including Dunkin’ Donuts, Regal Entertainment Group, Shake Shack and Uber have successfully used Visa Commerce Network. In December 2015, Boston-based Uber riders received discounted Uber rides when they used their Visa card at their local Shake Shack. Post-campaign results showed Shake Shack benefitted from new customer acquisition rates in the double digits, and higher customer spend levels, while Uber riders saw the offer rewards seamlessly credited to their Visa cards.

“Participating in this program was seamless,” said Laura Enoch, senior marketing manager of Shake Shack. “Guests could receive their perks without the need to change how they pay at the counter and because all of the rewards happened on the backend, it was a great activation without the need to train team members.”

“We continue to hear from guests that they are visiting Dunkin’ Donuts even more as a result of the campaign we ran using Visa Commerce Network,” said Sherrill Kaplan, senior director of digital and loyalty marketing, Dunkin’ Donuts. “The ability to quickly activate an offer that provided real benefits to both current and prospective customers alike was a very exciting outcome for us.”

Next week, select Uber customers in 10 U.S. markets who enroll in an offer and use their Visa card at any local grocery store can earn discounted rides, and will automatically be entered to win an all-expense paid trip to San Francisco for the big game on February 7.

“We are always looking for new ways to delight our customers and offer unique local experiences,” said David Richter, Uber's vice president of strategic initiatives. “We’re excited to partner with Visa on this initiative.”

Visa Commerce Network (VCN):

Visa Commerce Network was built off of the TrialPay platform, which was acquired by Visa in early 2015 to accelerate the delivery of merchant solutions that fuel business growth and strengthen customer relationships.

Visa Commerce Network offers:

Ease of use: Visa Commerce Network eliminates the need for coupons at the point-of-sale (POS) because promotions are seamlessly executed through card statement credits or rewards at time of service. Consumers can receive and redeem offers after accepting offers online from participating partners simply by using their Visa cards directly or via a mobile device. All tracking of promotions are managed by Visa and seamless to the merchant.

Extensive Analytics: Merchants receive aggregated, near real-time reporting on their programs with the ability to see how offers and promotions are impacting local spend throughout the campaign lifecycle.

Scale: Running on Visa's global payment network, which handles more than 100 billion transactions annually, Visa Commerce Network can scale to accommodate merchant offers of any size, without the need for new processes or staff training.

Visa is looking forward to working with merchants, issuers and cardholders to add value to all parties with the Visa Commerce Network.

“This is a service where everyone benefits,” said Ramon Martin, global head, merchant sales and solutions, Visa Inc. “Visa cardholders get access to great offers that don’t require any changes to how they pay, while merchants can acquire new customers and increase sales. By coupling the power of Visa’s payment network with our merchant partners, we are unleashing value for businesses, issuers and consumers alike.”

For more information on the Visa Commerce Network, please visit https://usa.visa.com/run-your-business/commercial-solutions/solutions/merchant-loyalty-card-programs.html.

About Visa Inc.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) 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 65,000 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 usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.