Visa

Visa has released the findings of a new survey that show how AI and digital tools are beginning to have an impact on holiday spending habits across the United States. The company says that it is seeing clear differences across generations, with younger consumers moving towards AI assisted shopping, digital currencies and other emerging payment trends.

"The data tells a fascinating story about the spending shift we're witnessing: shoppers are embracing AI and digital tools at remarkable speed, with nearly half of Americans now using AI to enhance their shopping experience," said Bruce Cundiff, vice president, Consumer Insights at Visa.

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, many product teams are under pressure to deliver payment solutions faster while ensuring accessibility and security across platforms.

To help address these industry needs, payments company Visa is announcing today that for the first time its Visa Product Design System (VPDS), an all-encompassing platform within the Visa technology stack designed to improve the product design and development process, will be publicly available.

With fraud on the increase and more sophisticated attack methods being used, payments company Visa is turning to AI to help businesses and financial institutions fight back.

It's introducing ARIC Risk Hub, developed by Featurespace -- a company recently acquired by Visa -- which uses adaptive AI to build profiles around genuine customer activity making it easier to spot suspicious actions.

Back in November last year we reported on Amazon's decision to stop accepting UK issued Visa credit cards due to high processing charges.

The change was due to take place this Wednesday (January 19) but it seems that an 11th hour deal may have been reached to allow customers to continue using their Visa cards.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is to stop accepting payments made from Visa credit cards issued in the UK as from January 19 next year.

Visa debit cards and credit cards from other issuers like Mastercard and Amex will still be accepted. The reason for the move is cited as Visa’s high processing charges.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been made a Visa principal member, making it "the first pure-play cryptocurrency company" to receive such accreditation. The membership was awarded back in December, but the news has only just been made public.

This is not the first time Coinbase has had dealings with Visa. The two companies worked together last year to launch the Coinbase Card ("a Visa debit card, funded by your Coinbase balance") in the UK, but now it will be possible to bring the debit card and additional services to more markets around the world.

Visa has announced that it has agreed to purchase Plaid as part of a deal worth $5.3 billion. The acquisition values the fintech company at around double its valuation following a 2018 Series C funding round.

Plaid is behind financial services APIs used by the likes of Coinbase, Gemini, Venmo and Transferwise. Its software allows for easier sharing of financial details, making it simpler to connect services to bank accounts. Plaid says the acquisition will help it continue to "accelerate the success of the fintech ecosystem".