Visa launches Visa Ready Partner Program

Mobile network operators can now gain access to Visa IP.

According to a statement, Visa launched a new partner program designed to accelerate the introduction of innovative payment solutions globally and further drive the global migration from cash to electronic payments.

The Visa Ready Partner Program paves the way for mobile device manufacturers, technology partners, mobile network operators, and others, to easily navigate the complexities of the payments ecosystem, and to gain access to Visa IP, licenses and best practices.

“The pace of innovation in the payments industry requires a new approach that ensures innovative payment methods can be tested, approved and commercialized quickly,” said Jim McCarthy, global head of product, Visa Inc. “While it is critical that we ensure new payment methods are secure and reliable, it is equally important to allow great ideas to become new ways to pay and be paid.”

The Visa Ready Partner Program is designed to provide innovators a path to ensure that devices, software and solutions used to initiate or accept Visa payments are compatible with Visa’s requirements, which may vary by country. It also provides a framework for the collaboration with Visa, as well as guidance and best practices to access the power of the Visa network.

Mobile point-of-sale acceptance (mPOS) providers, mobile NFC-enabled device manufacturers, and chip and platform providers are among the stakeholders that are already playing a critical role in enabling new ways to pay and that will benefit from the Visa Ready Partner Program.

For financial institutions and merchants, the Visa Ready Partner Program will make it easier for them to adopt new, innovative payment methods that are approved by Visa and can help them drive business growth by expanding the use and acceptance of electronic payments globally.

The program will use existing approval and certification processes from payments industry standards bodies and will rely on labs certified by EMVCo and the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SCC) to conduct testing of new payment solutions.

At launch, the Visa Ready Partner Program encompasses Visa’s existing program for the approval of mobile NFC-enabled devices, as well as a new program to enable mobile point-of-sale acceptance solutions that meet local requirements.

In addition, Visa has developed the Visa Ready symbol to identify payment devices and solutions approved for use with Visa payments.