Visa Inc. has taken steps to make smart phones a more readily available way for merchants, especially micro-size ones, to digitally accept payments with updates to Visa Pay, Visa Accept, and Visa Direct.
With Visa Accept, announced in April 2025, Visa makes it easier for these small sellers to get paid to their eligible Visa debit cards from any NFC-capable smart phone. Visa Pay connects any participating wallet to any Visa-accepting merchant, local or international, in-store or online. Visa Direct is the brand’s near real-time payment service to cards. Now, businesses can send payouts, such as compensation for contractors and staff, and consumer refunds, using their phones.
Visa Accept is an entry-level acceptance service for micro-sellers and very small businesses that might not be ready for a traditional merchant, Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth, tells Digital Transactions News via email. “Sellers enroll through a participating issuing bank’s digital banking app using an eligible Visa Debit or reloadable prepaid credential. As sellers grow and reach market-specific thresholds, they can be offered an upgrade path to a full merchant solution with more advanced features,” Birwadker says. Sellers can receive funds in minutes, he says.
Sellers need a smart phone that can support their bank’s app and payment method, such as tap-to-pay, QR code, or payment link. “Specific device requirements may vary by market, issuer and implementation, but the core idea is to let sellers accept payments using the phone they already rely on, without adding separate point-of-sale hardware,” he says. Visa Accept merchants can use their bank’s app to accept payments without extra hardware or a dedicated payment-acceptance app. Visa says the same buyer protections, security practices, and dispute protections apply to Visa Accept transactions.
Visa Accept transactions are sent over Visa’s network and use Visa Direct to move funds to the seller’s account, he says. “Sellers are subject to market-specific transaction or sales thresholds; once those thresholds are reached, they can be prompted to upgrade to a fuller merchant solution. The limits are designed to keep the experience appropriate for entry-level sellers while creating a path for business growth,” Birwadker says.
Visa Accept is available in more than 25 countries and live with banks in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, and Vietnam, with others in Kenya and Ghana expected to launch in coming weeks.
