Paysend expands cross-border money transfers for customers with VISA Direct

By Edlyn Cardoza

Paysend, the card-to-card pioneer and international payments platform, today announced the company is expanding its peer-to-peer money transfer services globally. Through the implementation of Visa Direct, a real-time push payment platform, Paysend’s U.S. customers will be able to send funds to eligible Visa cards in 107 countries and territories, while UK customers will be able to send funds to eligible Visa cards in up to 114 countries and territories globally.

The integration with Visa Direct follows a period of rapid growth that saw Paysend reach five million customers in November last year. Founded less than five years ago, with 14,498% growth over the past four years, Paysend is one of the world’s fastest-growing FinTechs.

Alex Bessonov, Group Head of Network Development and Strategic Partnerships at Paysend, said: “Transferring money across borders can be met with various challenges, including speed, security and convenience. With Visa Direct, our U.S. and UK customers will now have more options to send money to loved ones globally, directly to eligible Visa cards. We expect an exponential number of new transactions due to this collaboration as Paysend customers send everything from tuition fees to financial gifts to medical bill reimbursements to their family and friends abroad.”

Paysend launched in the U.S. in September 2020. The company experienced rapid growth as American residents, adopted the platform during the COVID-19 pandemic to securely transfer funds to international accounts in minutes – without visiting a physical location.

Jairo Riveros, Managing Director of the United States and Latin America at Paysend, said: “At the onset of the pandemic, many around the world struggled to pay bills, make a steady income, stay connected with loved ones and more. I’m proud to be part of a company that takes chances and has the goal of connecting people around the world through digital money transfers. I’m even more thrilled to know that Paysend is constantly working to do even more for its customers by working with companies like Visa.”

This integration will make money transfers and digital money movement options more widely available and accessible.

Ruben Salazar, SVP, Global Head, Visa Direct, said: “From helping pay bills to sending emergency funds, migrant workers often use remittances to provide financial support to families in their home countries. Visa strives to help make a difference in people’s lives by innovating to remove friction from traditional and time-consuming money-movement processes. We are excited to help enable Paysend to give their U.S. and UK customers the benefits of quick, secure and digital capabilities of Visa Direct.”