Visa Teams With AWS to Streamline Cross-Border Payments

Visa says it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN).

“Visa’s presence in the APN will help enable its partners and clients, including cloud-native fintechs, to access and integrate select Visa services more efficiently,” the company said in a Thursday (April 25) news release.

Among the first services available as part of the new arrangement is Visa Cross-Border Solutions, which helps streamline cross-border transactions and the holding of multiple currencies. It will allow Visa’s clients to integrate the solution into their operations without having to “step out of their established platforms,” the company said.

This is happening as cross-border payments continue to present a key source of friction for U.S. merchants, as recent research by PYMNTS Intelligence and Nuvei shows.

“Merchants focused on cross-border sales report an average cross-border payment failure rate of 11%, notably higher than their less internationally focused counterparts,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year. “This pain point is more acute for mid-sized firms in the $250 million to $500 million revenue range. Additionally, 82% of merchants struggle to diagnose the causes of failed payments, highlighting the need for robust solutions.”

In addition to the cross-border solution, Visa plans to use its new connection to AWS to bring more of its products to clients operating in the cloud. And Visa says it is now also part of AWS Activate, AWS’s flagship startup program, letting clients who are members of the Visa Fintech Fast Track program, and verified by AWS as eligible, receive up to $100,000 in AWS Activate.

“We are excited to support the expansion of digital payments, banking, and embedded finance capabilities to enterprises and fintech startups building their applications on AWS,” said Howard Wright, global head of startups at AWS. “We are looking forward to working with Visa to help make financial apps in the cloud more accessible, faster, secure, and easier to use.”

The news comes two days after Visa announced it was working with Standard Chartered to facilitate cross-border B2B payments for the bank’s corporate clients.

Standard Chartered has signed up for the Visa B2B Connect multilateral payment network and has become Visa’s new settlement partner for a set of currencies, with the companies rolling out the solution in Singapore before expanding to additional entities in the months ahead.