Innovation

All Aboard: Visa launches new transportation program to make travel easier

By Bill Gajda, Global Head, Innov./Strat. Partnership

When you think of Visa, what comes to mind? A card company? A payments provider? How about a technology company that is helping to revolutionise the way we travel? The last might not spring to mind, but that is exactly what we are doing.

In an era where time is the new currency for consumers - getting around is not just a matter of how, but how quickly and how easily. We see a future in which payment credentials can do more than just pay: it could be a digital key, ticket, fare or boarding pass. We want to work with transportation companies to make this vision a reality.

This week Visa launched the Transportation Center of Excellence – a new transportation program that brings together the depth and scope of Visa services to simplify the journey for consumers, whether you choose to travel by plane, train or automobile.

At Visa we believe in a simpler customer journey by building a more connected experience, however consumers choose to travel. Through our new Transportation Center of Excellence, we want to work with companies across the transportation industry to reimagine the customer journey. From rail operators looking to make it simpler for consumers traveling from Abergavenny to Inverness, airlines seeking to create a better in-flight experience or cities trying to create a more efficient commute for their residents, Visa has a range of tools and solutions that can help. For consumers this could mean not having to worry about collecting train tickets in advance or rummaging around for change to pay for on-street parking. Additionally, as consumer behaviours continue to change, Visa is also looking at what the next generation of public transportation can look like, where location services, Bluetooth and biometrics could make the journey even easier.

The Center of Excellence is available to airlines, automotive and rail companies from around the world and uses co-creation and human-centred design to help them improve their customer journey.

We have a suite of services including the Visa Developer Platform, Visa Token Service, Visa Ready for Transit and Visa Global Transit Solutions program to draw from to help companies customise a solution that fits their unique customer offering. For instance, the APIs (Application Program Interfaces) available through the Visa Developer Platform could be used with a rewards program to provide eligibility access rights to exclusive offers and benefits, or provide predictions for customer wait times at merchant location based on Visa’s transaction intelligence.

It all starts with a simple question: how can we make the consumer journey faster and easier?

If you are a transportation company interested in speaking to Visa, please contact [email protected].

Tag: Digital commerce