TransferWise announce global partnership with Visa following successful collaboration on cloud technology

TransferWise and Visa have announced a global partnership and the first use of Visa Cloud Connect a new way fintechs and partners can securely connect to VisaNet, Visa’s global processing network, through the cloud.

Visa’s Cloud Connect underpins a new global agreement between Visa and TransferWise that will enable TransferWise’s multi-currency debit card to expand in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, U.K. and U.S.

With TransferWise’s multi-currency account, consumers and businesses can hold and convert 55 currencies at the real exchange rate. Customers can use the multi-currency debit card to spend and withdraw from any of the currency balances. The expansion of this offering into new markets would have, in the past, required significant investment in local data centers, telecommunications infrastructure and specialized payment hardware. However, with Visa Cloud Connect, TransferWise can rapidly establish a secure connection to VisaNet through its cloud provider, eliminating the need for expensive local connectivity and speeding up TransferWise’s roll out plans.

According to Jack Forestell, executive vice president and chief product officer at Visa, the TransferWise team approached Visa last year with a challenge: enable the global rollout of their debit card program, and do it entirely on the cloud.

In his words; “It was an exciting opportunity for us to partner with TransferWise and show how we are thinking and working differently to help today’s fintech innovators scale up quickly. With Cloud Connect, we have created an approach that lets TransferWise tap into Visa’s global infrastructure one of the most secure, reliable, and resilient systems in the world – through a single integration. Through our work with TransferWise, we’ve created a blueprint for other fintechs to quickly and securely connect with Visa’s massive scale and reach.”

Talking about the partnership, TransferWise co-founder and CEO Kristo Kaarmann, said; “We have been working to remove borders in the world’s financial networks. Cards should work the same across borders too. In Visa we found a partner who shares our ambitions to make money work seamlessly no matter where you are. We are excited to see how the outcome of our collaboration impacts the next generation of multinational financial institutions across the globe.”