Visa has launched a cross-border business payments partnership with London-based fintech company Revolut.
The partnership, announced on Tuesday (August 27), will enable Revolut’s business clients to make instant card transfers via the Visa Direct system.
“International business remittances have traditionally come with a range of requirements that vary from country to country, including high transfer fees, a time lag of several days and the need for specific information such as IBANs and BICs,” the companies said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.
The release added that Visa Direct will enable Revolut’s business clients to send money around the world in real time.
“From start-ups paying contractors for their services to travel companies paying customers delay compensation, Revolut Business customers now only need their card number to transact,” the companies said.
Payments arrive in the recipient’s account within 30 minutes, and the solution is currently available to Revolut’s business customers in over 78 countries, supporting over 50 currencies.
Visa and Revolut have worked together before, offering a card remittance service using Visa Direct for peer-to-peer payments to around 90 countries in 2023, and also launched a series of corporate virtual cards focused on the B2B travel sector earlier this year.
Recent research from PYMNTS Intelligence shows how real-time payments have become an important part of a variety of industries.
For example, real-time payments have become a way for restaurants to improve financial stability and customer satisfaction, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence report titled, “Real-Time Payments: The Cashflow Spice Every Restaurant Needs.”
“Small and mid-sized restaurants that use instant bank payments or platforms like PayPal report higher net profit margins — more than 50% — compared to restaurants that rely on traditional methods like checks and Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers, which are perceived to have lower margins,” PYMNTS reported earlier this month.
Other industries, such as trucking, also need to catch up on this front: In trucking, paper checks remain the prevalent payment method, even though 93% of drivers surveyed by PYMNTS said they would take advantage of instant pay if they had the choice, but only 40% of drivers say they have access to real-time pay.
“Reliance on outdated infrastructure slows operations, introduces errors and increases costs,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “For truck drivers, who often work long hours away from banks or ATMs, cashing a check can be a time-consuming and inconvenient ordeal.”
Read more: B2B, B2B payments, commercial payments, cross-border payments, instant payments, news, PYMNTS news, real-time payments, Revolut, Visa, Vista Direct, Featured News, Featured B2B News
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