Visa is teaming up with TD Bank to introduce a new solution to ease money transfers between Canadian and U.S. accounts, Visa announced Monday (Dec. 23).
Powered by Visa Direct, the latest solution — TD Bank (US) to TD (Canada) Transfer — enables real-time transfers for Canadian users to move money from their U.S. TD Bank accounts to Canada quickly and easily.
Visa’s real-time push payments capability has handled 2 billion transactions in the past year.
Brian Weiner, vice president & head of product at Visa Canada, said that the company strives to make it hassle-free for Canadians “to send, receive and access their money where they want, when they want, and how they want.”
“Visa Direct is providing Canadians more convenient ways to move their money, and we are pleased to be working with TD to expand this capability to Visa cardholders,” he added.
The partnership is a demonstration of Visa’s resolve to streamline global payments and TD’s commitment to its customers’ always-evolving preferences.
The timing will help the financial preparedness of the 1.5 million Canadians flocking to warmer climates during the winter. A Visa survey indicates that 36 percent of Canadian snowbirds are exasperated when it comes to cross-border financial issues like transferring money between Canadian and U.S. accounts.
Almost $80 trillion is sent globally with wire transfers or bank accounts, which is a slow, outdated process that is also pricey. Digital money transfers are central to Visa’s payment innovation blueprint.
“At TD, we’re focused on providing our customers with products and services that are easy to use and deliver value,” said Frank Psoras, senior vice president of Everyday Banking at TD. “Today, we’re pleased to be offering an even easier way for our customers to move funds from their TD U.S. to Canadian bank accounts, demonstrating our commitment to omnichannel experiences that allow Canadians to bank in the ways that work best for them.”
Visa partnered with TransferWise earlier this month and launched in Spain to start, with plans to follow on in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Bulgaria. The broader goal will be to take the Visa Direct-enhanced offering and work with the card network to scale its offering throughout Europe and worldwide in 2020.