Visa expands fintech curation program to U.S.

Visa’s Fintech Partner Connect program, which until now existed in Europe only, is now available in the U.S. and worldwide.

Through this program, Visa will help its clients, including banks, fintechs and processors, find technology partners that can help them with new account opening, data aggregation and customer engagement, the card network announced Wednesday. Visa has curated and vetted a list of partners, meaning it has ensured these providers can handle an influx of new leads, are secure and meet specific needs.

“It’s about matching capabilities that exist in the market today that we think are interesting with our clients,” said Terry Angelos, global head of fintech at Visa, which is based in San Francisco. “We’re better off as a company if our clients can build more compelling, usually digital experiences for consumers and businesses.”

Terry Angelos, global head of fintech at Visa.

He points out that a curated list also helps companies with large tech budgets whittle down a plethora of choices.

Visa’s partners include Alloy, a software company that helps banks and fintechs make faster onboarding decisions; Extend, a provider of virtual cards; Personetics, which specializes in personalization; and Very Good Security, a company that expedites data security and compliance.

Visa does not get involved in the business relationships beyond providing a directory on the Partner Connect program’s webpage with a dedicated contact method. But clients who engage with a fintech through Fintech Partner Connect are eligible for benefits such as reduced implementation fees and pricing discounts.

“Anyone can transact with an Alloy outside of Visa but we have done some work to create these incentives and do all the vetting,” said Angelos. “Our goal is to make sure Visa clients have access to the best capabilities that are out there. If they adopt the best capabilities they will have more competitive products. All of that benefits our clients but also benefits Visa.”

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