Visa Checkout opens to UAE Shoppers

Visa, a global payments technology company, has announced that UAE cardholders will now be able to use its new service Visa Checkout. UAE cardholders can, from today, make quick and easy online purchases from merchants in the US, Canada and Australia that offer Visa Checkout. By summer 2015, Visa will expand the digital payment service to UAE-based online merchants. The UAE is one of 16 countries selected for rolling out the new Visa Checkout service this year.

The new digital payment system from Visa solves the frustration that many online shoppers face in having to submit large amounts of information, like names, card numbers, and addresses, each time they want to complete a purchase online. Visa Checkout makes the checkout process faster and more convenient because cardholders need to enter this information only once. A Visa-commissioned 2015 comScore study revealed that Visa Checkout enrolled customers have a 66% higher conversion rate when compared to traditional checkout customers.

Visa Checkout was first launched in July 2014 and is a quick and easy payment service to pay for goods online, on any device, in just a few clicks. According to a March 2015 Millward Brown  report commissioned by Visa,  95 percent of online customers enrolled in Visa Checkout in the United States say sign-up was easy, and 96 percent feel secure making a purchase with Visa Checkout.

Globally, over three million Visa Checkout accounts have been created to date, with access to over 110 eCommerce retailers.  In the UAE, Visa cardholders can use the service to buy from popular international stores such as Orbitz, Lululemon, and Tory Burch.

“Online spending is growing at an incredible pace in the UAE, making it a priority market in our global roll out of the Visa Checkout service. We believe consumers in this market will greatly appreciate the ease and simplicity of the service, which is accessible on all types of devices and allows for secure online purchase fulfilment anytime, anywhere,” said Marcello Baricordi, General Manager UAE and Global Accounts Lead at Visa Inc. MENA.

“To start, we are working with local banks to further personalize the user experience, and drive consumer enrolment for the service. In addition, we are also aiming to expand the Visa Checkout network to include merchant websites in the UAE later this year.”

Enrolling in Visa Checkout is intuitive and simple, and shoppers can use any Visa debit or credit card or even other branded cards to make purchases from a PC, mobile device or through a mobile app. Consumers simply store their shipping and payment information in a secure account, and they never have to re-enter it again when shopping online at sites that offer Visa Checkout. When a user sees the Visa Checkout button as a payment option, they simply log into their account, enter their username and password, and click a button to complete the purchase.

Consumers in the UAE will first be able to use Visa Checkout to buy from online sites in the U.S., Australia and Canada that offer Visa Checkout today. Visa is working with UAE businesses to enable Visa Checkout at local merchant websites later in the year.

To enroll to Visa Checkout, cardholders can visit www.visacheckout.com.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 56,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit visamiddleeast.com, visanewsmena.tumblr.com, or @Visamiddleeast.