According to Visa’s SMB Digital Banking Study, close to seven in 10 Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) expressed interest to bank with digital banks, which is extremely timely given the Bank Negara Malaysia’s recent…
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, is announcing an open call for startups across Asia Pacific to apply for the Visa Accelerator Program 2023 and applications will close next week on 10 January. Now in its third year, the Visa Accelerator Program selects a small group of startups to collaborate on some of the most pressing challenges in the payments industry. The 2023 program will focus on developing solutions in the following areas: Web 3.0, global money movement, embedded finance, merchant and small business enablers, and open banking solutions.
The Visa Accelerator Program was launched in 2019 and has since enabled the growth of some of Asia Pacific’s most prominent startups. The five startups from the 2022 cohort presented their proof-of-concepts at the Visa Accelerator Spotlight event, after working with Visa product and business development teams to bring their concepts to life and expand their businesses into new markets across the region.
Startups from the 2021 and 2022 cohorts secured nine commercial deals with Visa’s clients and partners in Asia Pacific. Additionally, Visa has entered into six partnership and commercial agreements with selected startups, emphasising the value that startups can bring to the larger payments industry.
Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia said, “It is exciting to see great products co-developed by the successful startups from the previous cohorts, who have also become our valued partners. Expectations are high as we recruit for the third cohort, because we want to continue bringing the best startups across the region into Visa’s payments network. We’re looking forward to seeing applications from Malaysia for the 2023 Accelerator Program.”
Join the program
Applications for the Visa Accelerator Program 2023 are now open and will close 10 January 2023. The program is the right fit for startups that are at Series A and above, have a long-term commitment to Asia Pacific growth and existing operations in the region, and have a market-validated, proven solution. The six-month program will allow selected startups to work together with Visa’s payment experts, product architects and business development teams to rapidly co-develop, test, and iterate solutions, while pursuing tangible go-to-market opportunities with Visa’s extensive network of financial institutions, merchants and digital partners. For more information, including how to apply, visit: https://www.visa.com.sg/apaccelerator
The following are the proof-of-concept overview and selection of quotes from the startups of the Visa Accelerator Program 2022.
Cymonz
Proof-of-concept: Cymonz is partnering with Visa to simplify international payments by enabling a unified end-to-end payments-as-a-service platform.
“Overall, the program has been fantastic. The team at Visa has been very committed and instrumental in making the partnership a success and many doors have been opened by Visa, which created commercial opportunities to help us grow our company in the region.”
– Simon Lynch, Founder of Cymonz
Moneytree
Proof-of-concept: Moneytree and Visa are partnering to provide financial institutions access to a wealth of data and insights for better and faster credit decisions.
“Collaborating with Visa’s product, design and sales experts, we jointly solutioned a Minimum Viable Product, and rapidly validated market fit utilising Minimal Viable Testing, all within a short span of six months.”
– Paul Chapman, Chief Executive and Founder, Moneytree
Perfios
Proof-of-concept: Perfios’s automated credit assessment and underwriting solution for small business loans allows plug and play card programs for instant disbursement of financing on Visa credentials.
“It was an amazing journey with great traction between Visa and us. The highly structured process of the program ensured clear objectives for every meeting and helped us build, validate and take our product to market within a very short span of time.“
– Sandesh Jayarama, Vice President of New Business Initiatives, Perfios
TallyKhata
Proof-of-concept: TallyKhata and Visa are enabling small business financing by leveraging TallyKhata’s merchant platform and data and Visa credentials for supplier payments and business expenses.
“The partnership with Visa was very impactful, from the structured approach towards solutioning to client engagement. In six months, we went from a proof-of-concept to a commercially tested product. The access to Visa leadership and product expertise along with client relationships for joint go-to-market helped us establish strong credibility.“
– Shahadat Khan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TallyKhata
TripleA
Proof-of-concept: TripleA and Visa are partnering to offer financial institutions, merchants and marketplaces innovative crypto solutions for customer engagement.
“The program really exceeded expectations with the drive and approach from Visa teams to support our product and go-to-market efforts. We won three significant client deals through the Visa Accelerator Program, which would not be possible without Visa. It made a difference in our growth!”
– Eric Barbier, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TripleA