Visa Developer Community

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is now open to startups in Latin America and the Caribbean.   The regional competition, organized in partnership with Finnovista, whose mission is to promote the development of fintech entrepreneurship, is an innovation program designed to engage with the startup community and encourage the development of the “next big thing” in payments.   Challenge: How can Fintech startups from across Latin America and the Caribbean leverage digital technologies to transform financial services in the region? Create innovative products and services that benefit consumers and businesses in the region using the Visa APIs.   Prize: Receive $50,000 USD and 10 finalists will participate in a 4-day immersion program with Visa in Miami prior to the finals.   Deadline to apply: July 14 th   Get all the information you need and apply here. ... View more

Visa and PYMNTS released a new study entitled “How We Will Pay,” which found that more than 80% of Americans have a strong interest in using connected devices to make purchases.   This study asked 2,584 US consumers three questions:   What connected devices do they own today? How do they use them to pay? How might they like to use them to pay in the future?   The study found that 75 percent of consumers have at least one connected device, in addition to their smartphones, computers or tablets. 83 percent recognize those devices as saving time and reducing friction when making purchases - subsequently creating an unattended checkout experience, regardless of device or platform.   Read the full report and study here.                 ... View more

Written By: Vincent Hesner, Manager - Visa Checkout iOS SDK    "Sometimes a gift is not a gift until it is wrapped"                 - Someone smart, probably   Visa Checkout is a product with two sets of customers. On one hand, there are the millions of users that have a Visa Checkout account and rely on the trusted name of Visa to house their credit card information to pay for things. On the other hand, the Visa Checkout SDK's customers are the merchants who must integrate the Visa Checkout button into their apps and sites. Visa Checkout cannot be used for purchases without the Visa Checkout SDK.   We recently interviewed a sample of merchants using Visa Checkout SDK and took notes. Lots of notes. We heard a common theme; that the Visa Checkout Mobile SDK was difficult to integrate with.   Since then, we have given the Visa Checkout Mobile SDK an entire makeover. Everything from integration steps, to class names, to file sizes, to documentation has been completely redesigned with merchant integration usability in mind.   Here is a video of how easy it is to integrate the Visa Checkout Mobile SDK into an Swift mobile app. In just 90 seconds, merchants can begin providing their customers a safe, easy way to pay for items.   Check it out and stay tuned for more Visa Checkout Mobile SDK usability improvements.   Click here to watch. ... View more

Find the error:   Foreign Exchange test case in the attachment is not correct. Find the solution, fix it and send it over.     Must send attachment to Visadeveloper@visa.com   There is also additional documentation in the Readme file. ... View more

You’ve registered for a Visa Developer account, now what?   Join us May 18 th at 11 am PST as we help you get over that first hurdle of getting started with Visa Developer.   This interactive webinar will be hosted by Visa Developer Platform Sr. Product Manager Sean Newton. Newton will provide you with insider knowledge to help you  quickly navigate around the platform to find the APIs you need for your payment project use-case.   Things you will learn:   Credentials: What you need to know. Sample Code: Where to find it. Testing in Sandbox: Best practices   The webinar will end with a live Q&A. This is your chance to connect directly with us. Can’t make it? We’ll update you on the recording. Please make sure to check back for that announcement.   Registration is open now: http://bit.ly/2qsUsUB ... View more

Hyperwallet, a global payouts platform, sat down with us to share their experience with integrating Visa Direct through the Visa Developer Platform.   Their platform documentation has been updated with Visa Direct guides, to provide clients the technology to enable fast funds transfer, payment account validation and reporting.   Watch what developers at Hyperwallet have to say about their experience working with the technology here.   Have questions on how you can integrate with the Visa Developer Platform? Comment below. ... View more

Stay informed with the latest releases on existing products and new products through our Release Notes section.   These releases notes provide information on the new features of the latest Visa Developer Release.   Have ideas on what else we should add to Release Notes? Comment below.   ... View more

Visa Card Eligibility API enables you to check eligibility to offers and benefits based on the customer’s card numbers.   The Visa Card Eligibility Services is a card number verification service designed to promote targeted distribution of Visa card benefits.   For example, if you are a merchant, this API allows you to create an offer program. You can then set eligible criteria for the offer and when a customer wants to redeem the offer, the merchant will make a call to verify the cardholder has access.   This API provides an easy way to check if the card meets a complex set of eligibility criteria providing access to premium offers or benefits.   Make sure to check out the product guides and documentation to get more information.   This API is available for issuers, acquirers, merchants, payment service providers, system integrators, commerce platform providers, issuer service providers and developers! Happy Coding!  ... View more

Over 4,700 participants from 22 countries will attend TiEcon in Santa Clara on May 5-6.   For 25 years, the Silicon Valley has been a voice for entrepreneurs and start-ups and this year’s conference will focus on what they deem to be the hottest areas of innovation: machine learning, IoT, FinTech & blockchain, and security.   Kicking off the FinTech & Blockchain track as the keynote speaker will be Visa’s SVP of Platform Strategy & Innovation, Paul Walsh.   Now more than ever, commerce as we know it is changing, so that paying for items using sensors in your shoes or truly simple offers and coupon experiences are within our reach. FinTech companies are fully embracing open technology platforms and the collaboration and partnership necessary in order for change to happen at mass scale.   Paul Walsh plans to discuss this Disruptive Innovation in FinTech, what future of commerce looks like and how you can develop for it now.   Register here and join Visa in Santa Clara next week. If you can’t make it, follow along through the livestream at 10:30amPDT or stay tuned for a recap blog post. ... View more

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative invites European start-ups to submit ideas focused on improving the local community and travel experiences, enhancing everyday lives of people everywhere.   Competitors will have a chance to win up to €50,000 and the chance to participate in a development program with Visa. Plus, finalists will get the opportunity to show off their skills and pitch their ideas to Visa executives and others in the payments world at Money 20/20 in Copenhagen.   Local Community Challenge: How can digital payment technologies help create products that connect people and enrich local communities?   Regional Intercity Challenge: How can mobile technologies and connected devices transform the experience of intercity travel?   International Travel Challenge: How can new products and services, based on Visa APIs, deliver a more seamless international travel experience?   Don’t miss out of your chance to compete in Visa’s FIRST European Everywhere Initiative. More information, applicable terms and conditions, eligibility information, and submission due dates here.           ... View more

    Finalists will be able to pitch their idea to Visa’s Major Clients at an upcoming Visa event.         Three Challenges. One big prize pool.   Visa’s Everywhere Initiative is just days away from closing submissions for its third annual challenge in the US.   For startups, there is a lot at stake: the winner will win up to $50,000 and the opportunity to work directly with Visa.   While the prize money is sizeable, previous challenge winners tell Visa it is the validation and resources they received after winning which really helped propel them to the next level.   “It’s difficult for any company—no matter how good the product or service they provide—to rise above the trend and really be able to demonstrate they are the best-in-market solution,” says Pete Borum, co-founder and CEO of Reelio.     “Having the opportunity to work with Visa, one of the best known brands in the world, is really fantastic validation for a startup in an environment that is saturated with startups,” Borum adds.   Challenge organizers understand the difficulties startups face when vying for funding and attention from VCs, which is why Visa offers guidance and support to help winners get to market. Past winners tell Visa the expert mentorship they have walked away with has been instrumental for startups in this competitive VC climate.   “The opportunity to work with Visa has been transformative for our business. Winning has helped validate us with other Fortune 100 companies. We now have a model for integrating Virgil into large, complex global businesses,” says Ronal Mitchell, CEO and Founder, Virgil Inc.   This year, things are getting even more competitive.  For startups, the exposure will be once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Visa’s Everywhere Initiative organizers will give finalists the stage at an upcoming Visa event!   The event is Visa’s largest annual gathering of clients and provides a unique environment to engage with clients and industry partners from across North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean on the issues and trends that are driving the future of payments.   "Visa believes that the future of innovation is about co-creating solutions with our clients and in partnership with all kinds of companies, including startups. We are excited to discover the best of the best startups and find ways to partner with them to create the future of commerce together leveraging the Visa Developer APIs," said Shiv Singh, Senior Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Visa Inc.   Don’t forget there are three challenges; all entries must be submitted by April 6, 2017! SUBMIT HERE.   The Everywhere IoT: How can your company use connected devices to facilitate simpler, more seamless and powerful commerce for consumers? The Everywhere API: How can startups leverage Visa APIs to augment their products and ultimately drive more powerful commerce experiences for their consumers or merchants? The Everywhere Venue Experience: How can you harness Visa capabilities and other third party services to create transformative commerce experiences at sporting events, transportation hubs or other venues where people congregate? ... View more

We have updated the platform with new APIs. Here is some of what was part of the latest releases.   Product & API Onboarding – Merchant Measurement   For your Data and Analytics needs, check out the Merchant Measurement APIs. Gain insight on how well your merchant portfolios perform, by tracking sales metrics at multiple and geographic levels. What’s more, you can even compare performance against many locations that accepts Visa.   Imagine using an aggregated and unidentified transaction dataset that helps you compare sales growth and chargeback performance.   Measure merchant sales, enhance analytics services and identify top locations for customers based on industry and category. Read the documentation and test the API here.   Two APIs Added to mVisa Set   mVisa rides the rails of the Visa Direct APIs by uniquely packaging the Funds Transfer API, offering a way to pay and be paid using mobile phones.   New to the list of APIs for mVisa will address a consumer canceling a purchase, or returning a good in part or in full, or the merchant agrees to return a part of the payment.   Merchandise Return Reversal POST/GET: Used to refund (full or partial) sale amount back to mVisa consumer.  A merchant may, at its discretion, process a credit into consumer account when a valid transaction was previously processed. ... View more

Visa Developer’s Client Engagement team will be stopping in every region this year, hosting a series of “Roadshows” to help Visa Account Executives learn more about Visa Developer Center’s products, solutions and APIs.       Since launching in February 2016, interest from financial institutions and other client partners to enhance apps with Visa APIs has taken off at full speed. Due to the high demand from clients to learn more about the API economy and how it could benefit them, the VDP Client Engagement team is making sure Visa’s Account Executives are well equipped with the proper tools, platform knowledge and API use-case understanding to help Visa’s existing and new clients build out innovative payment solutions for their customers. The team wants to make sure the people that know their clients the best are well versed in the language of APIs and accelerating commerce innovation.   “Visa Account Executives understand the nuances of their clients’ pain points and opportunities, and how to talk to them about best-in-class solutions. We want to make sure AEs know and can communicate that Visa Developer provides innovative APIs to solve digital problems for clients.” Ilkay Can – Head of Client Engagement, Visa Developer     APIs Can Deliver Convenience to Customers   The VDP Regional Roadshows highlight the value APIs can have in improving a client’s bottom line by increasing cardholder satisfaction or increasing efficiency and lowering cost. It communicates to AEs in order for issuers and banks to stay competitive; they must join the open API race, and build mobile and digital solutions with Visa technologies. Attendees are taken through common pain-points and how clients could develop their solutions and combine different Visa APIs into client solution bundles with the aim to create winning opportunities for a variety of end-users.     “We took a storytelling approach that focused on telling stories about customer pain points. Using an approach like this with relatable stories helps drive a better understanding of the business outcome and value that can be addressed by Visa API solution bundles,” Charles Tsang, Global Marketing, Visa Developer Platform   “The Visa Developer Roadshow has demonstrated that meaningful client conversations around APIs are driven by empathic storytelling. They start with 'what problem are you trying to solve' and end with 'let's build together,” Piers Clough - Europe Visa Developer Product Lead.   Learn by Doing   Knowing why APIs will help clients is one way of inspiring AEs, but also putting them through an API “bootcamp” seals the deal   . APIs can be complex and a foreign world, so the Visa Developer Client Engagement team is committed to debunk myths and show our sales team how developers build and what goes behind how to create an app from scratch! Here was the reaction from our raving fans:   “Well organized with some great external guests and exercises to bring context and understanding to these complex capabilities.”   “This has been very inspirational 2 days, will take a lot back with me to improve client conversations.”   So far, the Roadshows have made a stop in London and Hong Kong, both well received by attendees with a 9/10 satisfactory rating. The team hopes to continue to host the workshops and bring them straight to Visa clients.   Connect with your AE or the Visa Developer team (visadeveloper@visa.com) to learn more about these Roadshows and how you can be involved or support.   ... View more

Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in North America will begin accepting submissions on Saturday, March 11, 2017.   Start-ups are invited to submit their solutions to help uncover the “next big thing” in payments as the industry shifts from plastic to digital and new entrants join traditional payments stakeholders. The challenges include:   How can your company use connected devices to facilitate simpler, more seamless and powerful commerce experiences for consumers? How can Visa APIs augment your company’s product or service offerings and ultimately drive more meaningful commerce or finance related experiences for customers? How can you harness Visa capabilities and other third party services to create transformative commerce experiences at sporting events, transportation hubs or other venues where people congregate?   Visa’s Everywhere Initiative first launched in the U.S. in 2015 and quickly expanded into a global program with nearly 1,000 participating start-ups, which have collectively raised $1.7 billion in funding, with 60 finalists and 14 winners selected. For more information, please visit: www.visa.com/EverywhereInitiative. ... View more

Visa is sponsoring the Hyperwallet Hackathon, taking place on March 14 th in Austin. If you plan to attend, we want to make sure you are prepared to win!   (Make sure to click here to register)   In a blog post, Hyperwallet touched on Visa’s efforts to improve real-time payment technology:   “It is something that our friends over at Visa take very seriously. So seriously that they unveiled their new Visa Direct platform, a real-time payments system backed by one of the world’s largest electronic payment networks. Visa Direct makes it easy for businesses to not just receive, but also send funds in real-time,” Hyperwallet wrote.   Hyperwallet uses Visa Direct as the foundation of its new Transfer to Debit Card payout method, and provides API documentation to guide developers through the implementation of transferring funds using Visa Direct.   The bank card object lets you transfer funds to a debit card. Read Hyperwallet’s API documentation, which highlights and guides you through the following capabilities: List Bank Card, Create a Bank Card, Retrieve a Bank Card, and Update a Bank Card.          Make sure to also create an account for Hyperwallet’s developer sandbox beforehand and save some time for coding and building your payout solution at the event. It is only an 8-hour hackathon, so you need all the time!    Do not forget: this is all for a good cause. The hackathon challenges developers to collaborate and experiment with emerging payout technologies to create a faster, safer, and smarter payout solution capable of helping charitable organizations distribute funds to individuals impacted by a disaster.   Meet our team, build with us and compete for cash prizes!   Visa Direct and Hyperwallet will be on-site with staff to help you win, but if you have any questions beforehand, feel free to email visadeveloper@visa.com   REGISTER HERE ... View more

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Visa Inc. is announcing the third annual Everywhere Initiative with a focus on female entrepreneurship and a sponsorship of Girl Starter, a technology company that provides platforms to amplify girls in entrepreneurship and business leadership. Visa helps to shine a light on women in technology, both by inviting women entrepreneurs to participate in Visa’s Everywhere Initiative and by sponsoring an upcoming episode of the new TLC network series, “Girl Starter.”   “The sponsorship of Girl Starter continues to move the needle on our commitment to empowering women in the workplace,” said Lynne Biggar, chief marketing officer, Visa. “At the same time, it allows us to bring even more start-up-led innovation into the fold at Visa, ultimately creating better business solutions for all of our clients and partners.”   “At Girl Starter we believe in supporting young women who have an entrepreneurial spirit and are fostering change in the world around us,” said Jeannine Shao-Collins, CEO and co-founder of Girl Starter. “We’re thrilled to be working with Visa, an established brand that is not only innovating the future of payments but also the future of the workforce by promoting universal acceptance of everyone, everywhere.”   Visa’s Everywhere Initiative Kick-off Event in Austin   The kick-off of Visa’s third annual Everywhere Initiative in North America celebrates female entrepreneurship with a live pitch competition in Austin. Five women-led start-ups will pitch ideas that leverage Visa APIs to help merchants grow their businesses. The event will be held on Saturday, March 11 in Austin at Visa’s Everywhere Lounge. The start-ups include BeautyLynk, CNote, Loop & Tie, Soko, and Traveling Spoon.   The live competition will be judged by Visa executives, cast members of the upcoming TLC network series, “Girl Starter” and Ingrid Vanderveldt, chairman and CEO of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020 (EBW2020). All participants will receive an annual membership to the EBW2020 One Club, and the winner will receive $25,000 and the opportunity to run a pilot program with Visa.   ... View more