Hyderabad-based fintech Payswiff wins Visa Everywhere Initiative 2020 in India

Payswiff was declared the winner of the first Indian edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), payments technology giant Visa said, adding that Phi Commerce and Samunnati had won two other challenges that took place during the initiative.

Hyderabad-based Payswiff won for its solution that provides end-to-end omnichannel electronic payments to banks, SMEs and enterprise merchants. The initiative saw participation from more than 260 fintech companies and 400-plus applications — a record number for any VEI program outside the United States.

The initiative had hosted challenges focused on driving digital issuance for access to payments and credit, increasing small merchants’ acceptance and digitally transforming B2B payments.

VEI is a leading global innovation program for identifying and collaborating with fintech companies to produce cutting-edge solutions for digital payment challenges, in addition to enhancing their product propositions and providing payment solutions for Visa’s vast network of partners.

Visa, the world leader in digital payments, also said Phi Commerce won the challenge for accelerating digital issuance through integrated payments across channels and Samunnati won for a task related to B2B payments with a solution specialising in the agri-value chain.

“Through VEI, we were on the lookout to collaborate with fintechs that are creating agile, secure and seamless payment experiences, thereby putting completely new and evolved payment experiences into the hands of consumers and businesses. We are happy to have engaged with this vibrant community and look forward to creating unique payment experiences for India,” TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager for India & South Asia, Visa said.

“India is the hotbed of payment innovation and is going to further push the envelope for incentive payments. While VEI is a platform to enable fintech companies to enhance and take their innovative solutions to market faster, we are privileged to nurture the companies who are redefining the way India pays.”

The program witnessed seven months of scouting for the most talented fintech companies across India by hosting roadshows, followed by pitch days in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad for shortlisting companies under each of the three challenges. Visa then invited nine finalists for a virtual presentation, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, to pitch their ideas to a judges’ panel that included Visa executives, its partners and leading fintech organisations.

“The entire VEI journey has been an exciting experience for us at Visa. It has also been a culmination of our last three years of fintech outreach — starting with Visa Developer Platform in 2017, followed by the Visa Ready Program and Fintech FastTrack launches in 2019 – as we continue to open up for business with Indian fintech companies and take them to a global stage,” said Arvind Ronta, Head of Products for India & South Asia, Visa.

“We congratulate the winners Payswiff, Phi Commerce and Samunnati and are excited to work with them closely and help commercialise their solutions through Visa’s expertise and capabilities,” Arvind said.

VEI was first incepted in the United States in 2015 and has expanded into a global platform with more than 6,000 participating startups that have collectively raised over $2.5-plus billion in funding. The program, which had more than 215 finalists and nearly 100 winners, was rolled out in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, and has been conducted in over 100 countries.