CA-VISA-INC.
Visa (NYSE: V) today announced a global commitment to elevate 50 million small and micro businesses (SMBs) worldwide in an effort to get local communities back to business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visa is introducing a range of locally designed programs and solutions to enable SMBs to drive efficiency and sales through acceptance of digital payments, building online businesses and incentivizing neighborhood support. As part of the global commitment, Visa also formed the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) focused on economic and societal issues, including pandemic challenges SMBs face and closing racial and gender opportunity gaps.
Small businesses will play a vital role in helping communities around the world recover – they account for more than half of global employment and yet, are among the most affected by the pandemic . Following the COVID-19 pandemic, 43% of SMBs say they only have money to last six months1 and less than half of SMBs have any online business2 .
In addition to the economic impact, COVID-19 is accelerating the use of digital commerce experiences, from people seeking new ways to pay that do not involve touching a terminal to a boom in eCommerce, as stay-home orders result in shopping online instead of in-store. How much people spend online is also increasing globally, with spend per active card-not-present cardholder up by over 25% in April, compared to January3 .
“Small businesses on the frontlines of the global economy deserve extraordinary support in this extraordinary time,” said Al Kelly, CEO and chairman of Visa. “We are putting our network to work to help 50 million businesses globally not only survive, but also to thrive, along with the communities they serve.”
To help small businesses, Visa is focusing initially on four strategic areas to promote digital commerce and economic growth, with plans to continue to create products and services as the needs of entrepreneurs change over time. These areas include:
- Empowering digital-first businesses: Visa has built localized online resource centers – now available in more than 20 countries – providing tools, partner offers and information on how to start, run and grow digital-first small businesses. Across European markets, Visa is investing to increase the number of digital payment acceptance devices within shops by more than 50%. In the U.S., Visa is expanding its partnership with IFundWomen providing grants and digital training to U.S.-based Black women-owned small businesses.
- Encouraging digital payments: Major shifts in consumer behavior have occurred around the globe, including the overarching need for a touchless experience at the point-of-sale as 90% of shoppers are hesitant to shop in-store due to coronavirus.4 Deploying easy to adopt contactless payment technology – rapidly, and at scale – is critical to enabling faster, more secure commerce. Visa is working with a range of partners to increase the number of locations where consumers can tap their contactless card or mobile phone. Starting in July, Visa street teams will visit merchants to provide “back to business” kits with new point-of-sale materials, branding, educational resources and special offers. The program will kick off in the 50 largest U.S. cities and expand globally to 15 countries including Singapore, Italy, and South Africa.
- Incentivizing neighborhood support: Visa partnerships encourage consumers to shop local and remind them that where you shop matters. The Visa Back to Business Project – an online tool that helps consumers identify businesses that may be open in the wake of the pandemic or a natural disaster – is now live in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., and further expanding globally. In Europe and across Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa has launched new SMB initiatives that champion and enable entrepreneurs while encouraging consumers to support small businesses. Visa is teaming up with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, and restaurant delivery companies, including Deliveroo, to reward consumers for spending their money locally.
- Developing positioning and policy: In addition to the initiatives Visa is undertaking, the company today announced the formation of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute. This new institute comprised of Visa experts and partners will help address underlying problems and provide insights for SMB growth and closing racial/gender gaps. Key projects in the next six months will address topics including post-crisis recovery and resilience, urban mobility, closing equality opportunity gaps and insights into the gig economy.
Today’s announcement follows a global commitment from the Visa Foundation, announced in April, to provide $210 million in COVID-19 relief funding to address the longer-term needs of the small and micro business community over the next five years.
As the trusted engine of commerce, Visa is committed to leveraging its global network of networks to help the world adapt, rebuild and get everyone back to business.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device, for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa , visa.com/blog and @VisaNews .
1 U.S. Chamber of Commerce & MetLife Special Report on Coronavirus and Small Business , April 3, 2020
2 Visa Digital Transformation of SMBs , 2018
3 Visa data, April 2020
4 Retail Systems Research Consumer Report , March 2020
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200622005135/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
CapVest and Parquest Agree Terms on IPN’s Acquisition of Sopral8.7.2025 10:00:00 CEST | Press release
Inspired Pet Nutrition (“IPN”), the fast-growing pet food company controlled by CapVest Partners LLP (“CapVest”), and Parquest, a leading investment firm, have agreed terms on the acquisition of Sopral, a prominent branded pet food platform serving the European market, with manufacturing operations based in France. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250708134461/en/ Sopral products The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Financial terms have not been disclosed. Based in Pléchâtel, Brittany, France, Sopral is a leading manufacturer of branded premium dry petfood with a comprehensive range of high-quality nutritional solutions, including Pro-Nutrition Prestige, Pure Life and Protect brands. Sopral has a strong footprint and reputation in France and a fast growing online and international market presence in over 50 countries around the world. Employing over 130 people, th
Thales Reinforces its Leadership in eSIM and IoT Connectivity with a ‘Ready to Use’ Certified Solution8.7.2025 08:00:00 CEST | Press release
At a time when billions of connected objects are reshaping industries, Thales has achieved an essential security certification for its eSIM solution, reinforcing its leadership in trusted connectivity management for the Internet of Things (IoT). The certification, granted by the GSMA under the eSIM Security Assurance (eSA) scheme, marks a significant milestone in enabling large-scale, secure, and efficient IoT deployments across industries including smart metering, healthcare, and automotive. This positions Thales as a trusted partner capable of providing full protection against advanced cyber threats — delivering end-to-end security solutions, from chip to cloud, and ensuring compliance with emerging security standards (e.g., the EU Cyber Resilience Act). With over 5.8 billion IoT cellular connections expected globally by 2030 (GSMA Intelligence), businesses and industries face growing pressure to deploy connected devices at scale — securely and efficiently. The SGP.32 IoT specificati
Invivoscribe Expands Flow Cytometry Services to Accelerate CAR-T Immunotherapy Development and Regulatory Readiness with the Initiation of CERo Therapeutics Phase 1 Clinical Trial8.7.2025 06:00:00 CEST | Press release
Invivoscribe Inc., a global leader in precision diagnostics and measurable residual disease (MRD) testing, is proud to support CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., an innovative immunotherapy company seeking to advance the next generation of engineered T cell therapeutics that employ phagocytic mechanisms. Through this collaboration, LabPMM (Invivoscribe’s global reference laboratories) have customized their multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) services and implemented their sensitive MFC AML MRD assay to supportCERo’s clinical trial of its lead compound, CER-1236. The trial targets Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in patients who are relapsed/refractory, in remission with MRD, or newly diagnosed with TP53-mutated MDS/AML. AML is an aggressive blood cancer characterized by the rapid accumulation of abnormal myeloid cells in the bone marrow and blood, disrupting normal hematopoiesis.1 Treating AML is especially complex due to its genetic heterogeneity and the high risk of relapse. CAR-T (chime
Tigo Energy Adds Solar-Plus-Storage Portfolio in Czech Republic to Build on MLPE Success8.7.2025 06:00:00 CEST | Press release
Successful PPDS P4 protocol certification opens full range of three-phase Tigo EI Inverters and the EI Residential product suite for grid connection in second-strongest E.U. market for Tigo. Tigo Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: TYGO) (“Tigo” or “Company”), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy software solutions, today announced that the Company’s entire portfolio of three-phase Tigo EI Inverters has successfully passed the certification tests for compliance with the PPDS P4 requirements in the Czech Republic. Compliance with PPDS P4, formally known as Distribution System Operation Rules, Annex 4, is a prerequisite for grid connection of solar inverters in the Czech Republic, validating the compatibility with the technical conditions defined by the European Commission and adopted by local utility companies. In the wake of the proliferation of rapid shutdown requirements across Europe, with installers in the Czech Republic deploying nearly 107MW of Tigo MLPE in 2024, Tigo products ha
Murata Launches World’s First High-Frequency Filter Using XBAR Technology for 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and Future 6G Networks8.7.2025 04:00:00 CEST | Press release
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981) (ISIN: JP3914400001) has announced the mass production and commercial shipment of the world’s first*1 high-frequency filter using XBAR technology*2. Developed by combining Murata’s proprietary Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) filter expertise with XBAR technology from Murata's subsidiary Resonant Inc., it enables the extraction of desired signals while achieving both low insertion loss and high attenuation. These features are critical for the latest wireless technologies, including 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7, and emerging 6G technologies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250707682186/en/ [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.] The world’s first high-frequency filter using XBAR technology The demand for reliable high-frequency communications continues to grow in response to the widespread deployment of 5G and the future development of 6G. Simultaneously, wireless local-area network (W
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom