Viewpoints

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PERSPECTIVES ON DIGITAL CURRENCY

Apr 17, 2013

Mobile

Split Bread Gets Rid of Cash and Ahead of the Curve

 

“Cash is dirty in a food environment,” says David Silverglide, co-founder of the hip San Francisco sandwich shop, Split Bread.

Split Bread offers it consumers multiple ways to pay, none of which include cash.  Customers can scan a QR code at their table and have their sandwiches delivered directly to them, use a card at a payment kiosk, or order online.

Only accepting electronic payments allows Split Bread to operate more cost effectively by not having to count and reconcile cash and customers can move in and out at a much quicker pace.

Smarter, faster, and in this case delicious.

To learn more about Split Bread and other restaurants embracing electronic payments, please visit Currency of Progress.

Related post: Visa Blog: Will 2013 Be the Year of Cashless Restaurants?

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on April 17, 2013 at 11:25 am

Category: Innovation, Mobile, Small Business
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Apr 10, 2013

Next Stop, Myanmar! Travel Tips for Navigating a Cash-Based Economy

In a cash-based economy like Myanmar, even frequent travelers may need to adjust some of their usual travel habits. Here are some practical tips that cover everything from hiring cars to obtaining local currency through ATMs, and are designed to ensure that travelers who want to get the most out of their journey are well prepared.

Click on the infographic below to  get some  helpful hints from Visa’s travel and tourism experts:

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on April 10, 2013 at 7:08 pm

Category: Travel & Tourism
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Mar 8, 2013

International Women’s Day

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, Visa is proud to join the global movement to honor the achievements of women around the world. Yet, while we acknowledge the many advancements for women, we also recognize that many challenges remain.

Today, an estimated 2.5 billion adults lack access to formal financial services, and a disproportionate number of them are women.  In many developing countries – as our recent research with the GSMA mWomen Programme demonstrates – women often are the primary household financial managers: paying bills, making daily purchases and trying save for the future. However, many women lack access to the basic financial services – a secure way to carry money, a safe place to save – that could help them better manage their unpredictable and often precarious lives. Access to basic financial tools such as payments and savings is a key driver of women’s empowerment, helping them improve their daily lives while also lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.

At Visa, we are proud to know that our products, services and global network are helping provide women with access to the financial tools they need to lead safer, more convenient and dignified lives. One example is the Visa Giro program, through which many women in Latin America are gaining first-time access to more formal financial services and a secure way to manage their finances In addition to the financial inclusion benefits generated by our products and network.

We’ve also built several partnerships aimed at improving women’s access to financial services, including:

  • Partnering with Women’s World Banking to advance financial inclusion in Nigeria by supporting the development of a commercially-viable savings product tailored to the needs of underserved women. Women will be able to access their savings accounts via bank branches, ATMs and mobile phones, providing them convenience and security.

International Women’s Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made and recommit ourselves to the work ahead. At Visa, through our products, network and partnerships, we look forward to finding new ways to empower women worldwide in the years to come.

Please click here for an executive summary of Unlocking the Potential and watch on-the-ground reports from the team of researchers here.

Visa’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Douglas Sabo and Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women discuss the profound impact mobile technology is having on the lives of low-income women around the world.

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Posted by: Douglas Sabo, Visa Corporate Responsibility on March 8, 2013 at 9:28 am

Category: Financial Inclusion
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Feb 27, 2013

Voices of Inclusion: Daryl Collins, Author & BFA Director

From the show floor at Mobile World Congress, Visa’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Douglas Sabo interviews thought leaders from the public, private and NGO sectors about the impact mobile services are having on financial inclusion efforts around the world.

Next in the series, Douglas sits down with Daryl Collins, Author of Portfolios of the Poor and Director at Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) for an extended discussion of the research recently released BFA, the GSMA mWomen Programme and Visa Inc. exploring how women around the world manage their money and how mobile money services can help meet their financial needs.

Among her insights, Daryl shares information about how the money management techniques of women differ from men and the importance of the income that women earn and contribute to family expenses. Daryl shared additional information from the study, including what women reported as the most appealing features of mobile financial services: convenience, security and privacy.

Daryl Collins, Author of Portfolios of the Poor and Director at Bankable Frontier Associates

Other videos in the “Voices of Inclusion” series:

Dr. Maura O’Neill, USAID

Chris Locke, GSMA Mobile for Development

Elizabeth Berthe, Mercy Corps

Cherie Blair, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women

 

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Posted by: Douglas Sabo, Visa Corporate Responsibility on February 27, 2013 at 8:50 am

Category: Financial Inclusion, Mobile, Surveys, Studies & Research
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Feb 26, 2013

Postcards from #MWC13: Visa Global Head of Product Jim McCarthy

Jim McCarthy, Visa’s Global Head of Product, takes a break from the hustle and bustle of Mobile World Congress to offer his perspective of why mobile payments are at the center of this year’s show.

See  Jim’s insights on how the industry dialogue is evolving and why there is  an increased focus on consumers, merchants and commerce in 2013–and the coolest thing he has seen at #MWC13:

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on February 26, 2013 at 10:13 pm

Category: Mobile, Products & Services
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Feb 26, 2013

Postcards From #MWC13: Greetings from Bill Gajda

Greetings from Barcelona!

Mobile World Congress is underway and Visa’s presence is stronger than ever. With mobile commerce and mobile payments listed among MWC13’s top three agenda items, Visa’s Head of Mobile Bill Gajda (@billgajda) welcomes those in person and online to #MWC13.  For those attending the show, please drop byVisa’s booth  at Hall 6, Booth 6E40.

As we continue to feature highlights from the show  floor, we welcome you to share comments and questions around Mobile World Congress.  Follow us @VisaNews for updates from #MWC13!

Watch the clip below to see a welcome note from Bill:

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on February 26, 2013 at 6:26 am

Category: Innovation, Mobile, Partnerships
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Feb 25, 2013

Unlocking the Potential: Women and Mobile Financial Services in Emerging Markets

Visa, in conjunction with the GSMA mWomen Programme and Bankable Frontier Associates, is pleased to announce the release of Unlocking the Potential: Women and Mobile Financial Services in Emerging Markets. This new report identifies the financial needs of women living at the bottom of the pyramid; key findings include:

  • Women actively contribute to household income. Seventy-five percent of women surveyed contribute some amount of income, most often from irregular sources like small businesses or agricultural sales.
  • Women use a variety of tools to manage household finances. Nearly 60 percent of women surveyed are saving money for daily expenses and long-term needs, and a full one-third pay the family’s utility bills or make other types of remittances.
  • Women recognize the security and privacy of mobile money. In Kenya, for example, 95 percent of women using mobile remittances rated them as secure and private. In comparison, only half of those using personal delivery of cash as their primary method consider it secure and private.

Additionally, the study identifies actionable next steps for mobile financial service providers that want to expand their business to reach this untapped market, including: increasing mobile access for women; providing better financial literacy services to encourage awareness and understanding; delivering high-quality customer service; and developing targeted solutions to existing barriers faced by women in these markets.

This effort is part of Visa’s ongoing efforts to advance financial inclusion in the developing world. Given that women make up a majority of the 2.5 billion adults who lack access to formal financial products, this report has particular significance for these efforts. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to bring more underserved women into the financial mainstream, thereby reducing the cycle of poverty throughout the world.

For more information on the report, please click here. To read the full report, please visit the GSMA website.

 

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Posted by: Douglas Sabo, Visa Corporate Responsibility on February 25, 2013 at 11:12 pm

Category: Financial Inclusion, Mobile, Surveys, Studies & Research
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Feb 25, 2013

Postcards from #MWC13: Visa’s Bill Gajda Talks NFC

Kicking off Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona today, Visa’s Head of Global Mobile Products Bill Gajda (@billgajda) particpated on a panel entitled ”Building the Ecosystem for NFC Services”.  Visa will be providing updates through the weeklong event, which is expected to draw 80,000+ attendees from around the world.

Alsong with  executives from Turkcell, ISIS and the GSMA, Gadja discussed the current state of NFC, as NFC services are continuing to be rolled-out by mobile operators, payment providers and handset manufacturers across the world.

In other NFC-related news, Visa also annouced a global partnership with Samsung, embedding Visa’s NFC software in a range of Samsung mobile devices and tablets. 

For more information on Visa’s news and activities at Mobile World Congress, follow us @VisaNews on Twitter and check out our Mobile World Congress Media Kit, which is updated with the latest news, blog posts, videos, fact sheets and photos.

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on February 25, 2013 at 3:13 pm

Category: Mobile, Partnerships
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Feb 22, 2013

Series Wrap-Up: Empowering Women with Mobile Money

Next week, Visa, the GSMA mWomen Programme and Bankable Frontier Associates (BFA) will release research that explores the opportunities for mobile financial services (MFS) to better serve the financial lives of women in developing countries. In advance of the formal report, we sat down with BFA’s research team to learn more about their hands-on experiences in the five countries covered in the report: Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. We’ve shared their stories over the past few weeks in a blog and video series that showcases women’s experiences with mobile money.

The full series, featured on Mobile Payments Today, is worth checking out. It includes:

The official launch of our study, Unlocking the Potential: Women and Mobile Financial Services in Emerging Markets, will take place during Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, Spain on February 26th. Aletha Ling, Chief Operating Officer of Fundamo, a Visa company, will discuss the findings during a panel featuring mobile money experts Roar Bjaerum, Head of Easypaisa, Telenor Pakistan and USAID Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Maura O’Neill. The seminar will be keynoted by Cherie Blair, Founder of The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

The report will be available via GSMA and Visa, and will reveal the combined findings featured in this series of stories from the field. We look forward to sharing it with you.

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Posted by: Douglas Sabo, Visa Corporate Responsibility on February 22, 2013 at 2:45 pm

Category: Financial Inclusion, Mobile
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Feb 22, 2013

Visa Showcases Mobile Payments at Mobile World Congress 2013

Next week, Visa heads to Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress 2013, the world’s premier mobile industry event, where we will showcase the latest Visa offerings in mobile payments and digital wallets.  The event in Barcelona always proves to be a stage for true mobile innovation – and at Visa, we continue to collaborate with mobile operators, financial institutions, device manufactures and technology providers to transform the way people shop, pay and get paid.

We are truly making mobile payments and digital wallets a reality for consumers around the world.

Our schedule is listed below so please stop by the booth (Fira, Hall 6 – Booth 6E40) and view the latest technology offerings, or join one of our events.  We’ll also be tweeting and blogging (and posting videos) from Mobile World Congress, so send along your questions or comments on trends in mobile.

Visa Press Conference
Monday, February 25, 4:30 p.m. CET
Fira, Hall 6 – Stand 6E40
Visa mobile initiatives are scheduled to be announced during the press briefing, which will be streamed live.
http://livestre.am/1hLDm

Building the Ecosystem for NFC Services
Bill Gajda, Head of Global Mobile Products, Visa Inc.
Monday, February 25, 2:00 p.m. CET
Fira, Hall 4, Conference Village, Auditorium 3
Visa’s Head of Global Mobile Products will discuss the current state of NFC, as NFC services are continuing to be rolled-out by mobile operators, payment providers and handset manufacturers across the world.

Visa and GSMA to Launch mWomen Research
Aletha Ling, Chief Operating Offer of Fundamo, a Visa company
Tuesday, February 26, 12:00 p.m. CET
Fira, Hall 4 – Conference Village, Room CC1 – 1.5)
Visa and GSMA will release a new five-country study, “Unlocking the Potential: Women and Mobile Financial Services in Emerging Markets,” offering insights on how mobile financial services can better support the complex financial lives of women at the base of the pyramid.

Retail Therapy; Enhancing the Shopping Experience through Mobile
Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President of Mobile for Visa Europe
Wednesday, February 27, 4 p.m. CET
Fira, Hall 4 – Conference Village – Auditorium 3
Visa’s Senior Vice President of Mobile for Visa Europe and industry experts will discuss the latest uses of mobile technology in the retail environment.

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Posted by: Lucas Mast, Visa Corporate Relations on February 22, 2013 at 1:58 pm

Category: Conferences and Events, Financial Inclusion, Innovation, Mobile
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