Visa Inc. on March 24 announced a strategic alliance with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce designed to provide Hispanic-owned businesses with educational materials to help them manage cash flow and payments and to provide the “best available” interchange rates.
Visa will work with the chamber to put a special emphasis on smaller merchants, with annual sales of up to $1 million, “to ensure that they have access to best-available interchange rates,” Visa said in a statement.
“This initiative will offer our members access to affordable card-acceptance programs that support business growth, especially during these challenging economic times,” Javier Palomarez, chamber president, said in a statement.
Visa did not provide a specific interchange rate Hispanic small-business owners may receive through chamber membership.
Hispanic Chamber members will receive “customized” access to Visa’s social-networking resources online, including its Visa Business Network presence on Facebook, and small-business news, videos, blogs and tips about managing cash flow and attracting customers. Visa will also supply chamber members with cash-flow management workbooks and point-of-sale signs touting Visa.
“Visa is keenly aware of the role merchants–large and small–play in the health of our economy,” William M. Sheedy, Visa group president for the Americas, said in a statement. “We are committed to doing our part by developing payment products and services that enable merchants to strengthen and grow their businesses and, in turn, help drive economic growth.”
Visa is working with other associations on similar partnerships, a Visa spokesperson says.
