Visa to Digitally Enable 50 Million Small Businesses to Power Recovery in Communities Worldwide
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
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200622005135/en/
Contact information
Kryssa Guntrum
415-805-4488
kguntrum@visa.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
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
Eventbrite Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Bending Spoons for Roughly $500 Million to Accelerate Eventbrite’s Next Phase of Growth2.12.2025 14:30:00 EET | Press release
Eventbrite, Inc. (NYSE: EB), the leading global marketplace for shared experiences, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Bending Spoons, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $500 million. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, including regulatory approvals and approval by Eventbrite’s stockholders. “For two decades, Eventbrite has stood at the forefront of the experience economy, helping tens of millions to create, discover, and attend unforgettable events,” said Luca Ferrari, Bending Spoons CEO and Co-Founder. “Joining forces with Bending Spoons will accelerate innovation and strengthen Eventbrite’s tools and resources to bring even more people together through shared live experiences for many years to come. As longstanding fans, we’ve identified a few opportunities that we’re excited about exploring with the Eventbrite team after closing the transaction. These include building a dedicated m
Armis Recognized for Innovation; Named to Inc. Best in Business List for the Second Consecutive Year2.12.2025 14:00:00 EET | Press release
Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, today announced that it has once again been named to Inc.’s Best in Business list, specifically highlighted in the Best in Innovation category for 2025. Inc.’s annual Best in Business Awards celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions of companies that have made a profound impact on their industries and on society at large. “Armis rapidly innovates and continuously enhances our comprehensive Cyber Exposure Management Platform so that global organizations can proactively protect against cyber threats before there’s any impact,” said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and Co-Founder of Armis. “Unlike other solutions on the market, Armis addresses the entire lifecycle of managing cyber threats so that security teams no longer reactively respond to breaches. This is a strategic and monumental shift for the industry to stay a step ahead of threat actors and hugely beneficial to keeping society as we know it safe from disruptions.” Since
Egle Therapeutics Initiates Phase 1 Healthy Volunteer Study of EGL-003, a Next Generation Treg IL-2 Agonist for Atopic Dermatitis2.12.2025 13:32:00 EET | Press release
Egle Therapeutics SAS (Egle), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicines that modulate regulatory T cells (Tregs) to restore immune balance, today announced dosing of the first healthy volunteer in the Phase 1 clinical study of EGL-003, an IL‑2⍺-biased mutein designed to selectively activate Tregs while limiting effector T cell stimulation, as a potential treatment for atopic dermatitis. The open-label, multi-center Phase 1 trial begins with a single ascending dose portion in healthy volunteers to rapidly generate foundational safety, pharmacokinetic (PK), and pharmacodynamic (PD) data. These findings will inform dose selection and scheduling for the subsequent multiple ascending dose portion in approximately 40 adults with atopic dermatitis (AD), which will evaluate safety, PK/PD, and early clinical activity versus placebo. Data from both study segments are expected to guide dose selection for a planned Phase 2a trial in AD aimed at establishing clinical pro
AI Takes Center Stage as the Major Threat to Cybersecurity in 20262.12.2025 13:00:00 EET | Press release
Experian® today released its 2026 Data Breach Industry Forecast, offering a look at the evolving cyber threat landscape. The predictions address how the coming year could usher in a new wave of sophisticated attacks driven by artificial intelligence along with other threats and vulnerabilities including quantum computing. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202474758/en/ Experian's 2026 Data Breach Industry Forecast Now in its 13th year, the forecast offers six insights into how cybercriminals are leveraging emerging technologies to create more convincing identities, evade detection, and exploit new digital frontiers. From synthetic profiles and autonomous AI agents to shape-shifting malware and even brain-computer interface vulnerabilities, the 2026 predictions point to a future where cyberattacks are more personalized, persistent, and technologically advanced than ever before. To download the complimentary pa
Buro Happold Signs Landmark Agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh Company to Deliver Detailed Master Plan and Infrastructure and Public Realm Design for Expo 2030 Riyadh2.12.2025 12:00:00 EET | Press release
Buro Happold, a leading global engineering, design and advisory consultancy, has signed a major contract with Expo 2030 Riyadh Company to serve as the lead design consultant for the detailed master plan and detailed design of public realm, landscape, infrastructure and utilities for Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy. This partnership represents a significant step toward delivering an event billed as “An Unprecedented World Expo”. Expo 2030 Riyadh is expected to feature nearly 197 participating countries and attract over 42 million visits to Pavilions covering approximately 6 million sqm. The event will offer a unique opportunity for participants to address shared challenges and showcase pioneering solutions for a sustainable future. Under the agreement, Buro Happold will provide comprehensive design and technical services, including, development of the detailed master plan, including a focus on event requirements and legacy phase elements, detailed design of the infrastructure works, uti
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