Visa to support Italian startup ecosystem in collaboration with Fintech District
Visa has signed a partnership with the Fintech District, an international reference community for the Italian fintech scene, with the aim of contributing to the development of the fintech ecosystem in Italy and promoting innovation and developing the next generation of payment solutions that improve the lives of consumers, businesses and communities.
From its beginnings in the 1950s with the first credit cards to today, where it was the first to settle digital currency transactions, Visa has always been on the edge of innovation thanks to an open network that connects 14,900 financial institutions and fintechs in over 200 countries and over 80 million points of sale.
Behind these numbers, a community of global experts in artificial intelligence, digital, cryptocurrencies, finance, financial services and consumer behavior, a community committed to finding the best technologies of the future at the highest level of security.
“The payments landscape is constantly evolving and when it comes to innovation, fintech is always at the forefront,” says Eva Ruiz, Head of Fintech Southern Europe at Visa. ” Visa has long been active in the fintech landscape with a number of programs that support their growth and with an “open” approach to our network that allows them to benefit from Visa’s global scale, technologies and security performance. The partnership with the Fintech District will allow us to further expand our network in Italy, giving us the opportunity to work with a number of leading companies in the Italian fintech scene and do our part to contribute to the growth of the sector.
“There are over 250 fintech companies in our community, some of which have made their mark in the payments world in recent years by proposing new models that have literally revolutionized the market. We are sure that direct dialogue with a player like Visa will give a further boost to the sector to create solutions that are able to satisfy the increasingly developed expectations of consumers. For us, it is a source of pride to see the Fintech District continue to grow and attract leading international partners such as Visa. Our goal is to encourage dialogue for the creation of open innovation projects, the cooperation between fintech and incumbents is indeed confirmed as the key to the development of financial services, comments Clelia Tosi, head of the Fintech District.
Visa to support the fintech ecosystem
Among the initiatives we can mention the “Fintech Fast Track” program, which has so far helped around a hundred European fintechs to access the payment system as direct participants, allowing them to provide their customers with better products and services, including a set of new payment solutions .
Another key initiative is Fintech Partner Connect, a program that provides financial institutions and merchants with a range of advanced features, combining Visa expertise and solutions with carefully selected fintech partners.
On the sustainability front, for example, Visa collaborates with ecolytiq, its first fintech partner in this area, whose innovative Sustainability-as-a-Service® solution analyzes payment data in real time to integrate each transaction with an individual calculation of the environmental footprint, for example in relation to CO2, and suggests measures to compensate for it.
Among the latest entries in Fintech Partner Connect is Switcho , a member of the Fintech District community, which developed the homonymous app to help users, including SMEs and professionals, analyze recurring expenses, such as electricity, gas, internet, telephone and insurance. , and helps them save.
Visa’s commitment demonstrates the company’s determination to provide the fintech industry with flexible and innovative payment solutions in an increasingly digital environment.
“The offer of financial services is no longer reserved for regulated entities, and this is possible thanks to Banking as a Service, which has opened up more and more fintech opportunities, so that entities other than financial institutions can integrate the offer with services such as card or bank account, but also immediate payments or improved loan proposals thanks to Open Banking” , adds Eva Ruiz. “We work in all vertical sectors of the fintech world, including cryptocurrencies, Buy now, pay later, Open Banking, B2B payments, and does not limit us to issuing payment credentials, but also includes enabling innovative solutions in acceptance”.
