Visa has launched a new service that delivers a digital card replacement via text or email to cardholders anywhere in the world.
When cardholders receive their new card, which Visa sends on behalf of card issuers, they can authenticate it and add it to their digital wallet, Visa said in a Wednesday (June 26) press release emailed to PYMNTS.
This value-added service, dubbed Digital Emergency Card Replacement, is designed to offer a convenient, fast and secure solution for cardholders who lose their card while traveling, according to the release.
“We’ve all felt that moment of panic while on vacation — the loss of a card and the feeling of being stranded,” Kathleen Pierce-Gilmore, global head of issuing solutions at Visa, said in the release. “Our new digital emergency card solution addresses these very issues.”
This new offering provides an additional layer of support to Visa’s Global Customer Assistance Services (GCAS), which provides a robust distribution network, established partnerships, and rapid card production and delivery across five continents, per the release. This service manages more than 3 million multilingual interactions each year.
Together with providing a solution for cardholders, the new Digital Emergency Card Replacement service enables issuers to deliver enhanced customer service, according to the release.
“It’s a win-win, demonstrating the power of digital payments to improve experiences for everyone,” Pierce-Gilmore said in the release.
Digital wallets have become a key part of travel for 74% of Americans, according to the Visa Global Travel Intention Study released in November 2023. That’s especially true among affluent travelers and millennials, the study found.
Cash, on the other hand, is a source of stress. The study found that travelers prefer using it but also worry about it being stolen and about paying for currency conversion. Plus, they often find that they have unused local currency left over and feel obligated to make a purchase to use it up.
“Americans expect a seamless, digitally connected travel journey whether they are here in the U.S. or abroad,” Kirk Stuart, Visa’s head of North American Merchant, Acquiring & Enablement, said in a press release announcing the study’s findings.
“The currency of now” takes on a decidedly different form in this poem about the mall’s resurgence. It celebrates the brick-and-mortar comeback fueled by Gen Z’s desire for IRL (in real life) connections and the evolving role of physical space in a digitally-driven world. Join us, with a little help from AI, as we examine this retail revolution, where the “currency” of cool reigns supreme.
The tinsel’s gone, the carols now hushed,
New Year’s returns — cashiers mildly crushed.
A sea of sweatpants, gift cards in hand,
The mall’s a vibe unplanned.
But fear not, dear shopper, the story’s not bleak —
The mall’s plotting comebacks, not just peak weak week.
Gen Z’s in the food court, TikTokking their fries,
While swiping through Depop for vintage thigh-highs.
“IRL’s better!” they might say, “No porch pirates, no wait—
Just tag me @Aritzia, I’ll meet you at eight!”
They crave neon selfies, not screens’ pixelated glow,
So malls built a skatepark where a Sears used to go.
Shopify’s merchants now hawk leather and lace
In pop-ups by Simon — no “online-only” space.
Leap powers the kiosks, the QR code deals,
As D2C brands test if foot traffic feels.
Where Macy’s once stood, now micro-lofts bloom:
“Live above Lululemon!” they might chirp. “Bath bombs in every room!”
A dentist, a daycare, a co-working hub —
The mall’s now a Swiss Army knife, scrubbed of ’80s dud.
Mall of America’s got waterslides looping its floors,
While American Dream’s got a ski slope indoors.
“Why choose between Zara and ziplines?” they could grin,
As Nordstrom becomes Saks Fifth within.
Phones glow like fireflies in this retail ballet:
Price checks on Google, then “U up?” on Tinder (hey).
They scan, they compare, they Instagram the ‘fit—
But still buy the jeans ’cause the vibe’s so legit.
So here’s to the mall — that phoenix of bricks!
No longer a relic of cassette tape tricks.
With Gen Z as hypebeast and Shopify’s might,
It’s part TikTok backdrop, part urbanist’s right.
The future’s bright, chaotic, a bit over-leased …
But hey — at least parking’s finally decreased.