Wirecard signs payments processing partnership with Visa

Written by Alex Hamilton
21st April 2020

Wirecard has signed an agreement to be preferred payment processor for Visa and its Fintech Fast Track Program in the Middle East.

Visa’s Fast Track Program aims to accelerate the development of start-ups

The two firms will cooperate to develop programs aimed at accelerating growth and innovation for their respective businesses.

According to Wirecard, it has gained access to Visa’s network and can provide guidance to fintechs in becoming fully operational in “the most efficient way possible.”

The Visa Fintech Fast Track Program aims to speed up the process of integrating with Visa for start-ups, and giving them quicker access to VisaNet, the company’s global payment network.

“We are excited to be a part of the Visa Fintech Fast Track Program and together, we can continue delivering financial technology innovations to the key Middle East market,” says Humza Chishti, regional manager for Wirecard in the Middle East.

For Otto Williams, vice president of strategic partnerships for fintech and ventures CEMEA at Visa, the company’s partner programme “meets fintechs at the speed they work”.

He adds that the partnership with Wirecard will allow Visa to continue to “enhance the value of fintechs” in its network and “ensure that we work together on innovative new commerce experiences.”

Wirecard signed a similar partnership with Asian giant WeChat in March, aimed at giving Europe’s merchants faster access to the Chinese market.

Alongside its logistics and customs partner SwissPost, Wirecard will allow merchants across Europe to integrate WeChat Pay into their online shop checkout page “in just a few minutes”.

The Wirecard integration will work by redirecting shoppers to WeChat Pay’s app or mobile website, much like PayPal’s checkout integration.

The German fintech believes the new offering “can drive up conversion rates” and boost customer satisfaction for Chinese customers shopping with its merchants.