SINGAPORE, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa, the world leader in digital payments, is looking for startups from across Asia Pacific to join the second cohort of their accelerator program. The Visa Accelerator Program focuses on helping startups in Asia Pacific expand their business into new markets with a strong emphasis on identifying commercial opportunities for the startups to collaborate with Visa and its extensive network of bank, merchant and government partners in the region.

"As the world transitions from a pandemic to an endemic state, there is great demand for digital-first experiences that shape new thinking around digital currencies and open data. And many startups have developed new innovations to tap these opportunities," said Chris Clark, regional president, Asia Pacific, Visa. "At Visa, we want to support these startups by helping them go from a local success story to a regional player, providing guidance and connections to navigate the complexities of entering new markets."

The Visa Accelerator Program is designed for startups that have launched successful solutions in their home markets but are looking towards the next stage of growth. As a network working for everyone, Visa is uniquely positioned to help startups break into new geographies and reach new customer groups.

Money movement, digital currencies, open data and B2B as key focus areas

With increased expectations for digital-first experiences from consumers and businesses, startups in the 2022 cohort will tackle some of the most pressing financial and technological opportunities in Asia Pacific:

• Simplifying and expanding money movement between consumers, businesses and governments to enable new ways to pay and be paid, domestically and internationally
• Delivering new innovative payment methods such as digital currencies through the development and adoption of blockchain
• Leveraging the open data environment to facilitate advanced decision-making and scoring capabilities in the areas of digital identity, consent management, credit scoring as well as risk and fraud management
• Offering differentiated and personalised shopping experiences through new credit models, buy now pay later and loyalty solutions
• Accelerating the digitisation of businesses by streamlining credit underwriting solutions and developing mobile-first solutions for supply chain management

Helping startups scale their business

Visa introduced the Accelerator Program in Asia Pacific in December 2020. Startups from the first cohort include Brankas, a fintech that provides financial software and solutions; Curlec, a subscription management platform that facilitates recurring payments and disbursements; DigitSecure, an omnichannel acceptance platform; ModusBox, an open-source platform for real-time payments and Open, a neo-banking platform for small businesses. The startups concluded their activities with a product pitch to hundreds of Visa's clients and partners across the region.

Join the program

Applications open 3 November 2021 and close on 9 January 2022, with the program commencing in mid-April 2022. The Visa Accelerator Program is a new part of Visa's broader set of platforms and activities for the startup community in Asia Pacific. With its dedication to supporting international expansion, the Visa Accelerator Program is the right fit for startups that are 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. For more information, including how to apply, visit: https://www.visa.com.sg/apaccelerator

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.

Annex A – selection of quotes from the 2021 cohort of the Visa Accelerator Program

Todd Schweitzer, Co-founder and CEO, Brankas

"The program highlight was seeing our product live in the market with our banking partners – Visa took an action-oriented approach in joining forces with Brankas and launching new products with us."

Zac Liew, Co-founder and CEO, Curlec

"Our experience with Visa has been unparalleled – to be able to work at this speed with us, considering their scale, has exceeded all expectations."

Seshu Kulkarni, CEO, DigitSecure

"Visa's product and market insights, executive mentorship, and technical expertise, have helped DigitSecure further strengthen our capabilities, enhance our go-to-market strategy, increase brand visibility and also open doors to new clients."

Steve Haley, Director of Economic Development, ModusBox

"The sheer magnitude of the contribution from the Visa team was incredible. They were able to mobilise resources from tech to development across the Asia Pacific region for us."

Anish Achuthan, Co-founder and CEO, Open

"It would have taken us two to three years to enter Southeast Asia and we were able to do this within six months  thanks to Visa's dedicated go-to-market support and structured approach to solutioning and product positioning with clients."