Visa announces 5 FinTechs to participate in its APAC accelerator program

By Leandra Monteiro

Payments giant Visa has announced that it has chosen five high-potential startups to participate in its very first Accelerator Program for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

During the next 4-6 months, the startups will be focused on developing various commercial initiatives such as new payment solutions with assistance from Visa and its global network of bank and merchant partners. A key goal for the accelerator program is to extend support to startups that have introduced successful solutions in their local markets.

Chris Clark, regional president, Asia Pacific, Visa stated, “Hundreds of startups came forward with outstanding ideas for new and enhanced commerce experiences, but the five participants we’ve selected truly stood out. We’re excited to work with each of the startups in our first cohort to bring their concepts to life and expand their businesses into new markets across the region.”

The five startups will work on some of the most pressing financial and technological opportunities in Asia Pacific:

• Brankas, a FinTech that provides financial software and solutions, will leverage the open banking and open data environment to create new payment and data-led experiences
• Curlec, a subscription management platform and ModusBox, an open source platform for real-time payments, will develop new ways to pay and be paid digitally to help drive financial inclusion for more consumers and businesses
• Open, a neo-banking platform for small businesses, and DigitSecure, an omnichannel payments acceptance platform, will find new ways to support small businesses in managing and streamlining their operations digitally as they adapt to changing technology demands