SHEFFIELD — Credit card giant Visa has announced major changes are in store for credit and debit card usage.
According to a story by the Associated Press, some new features could mean Americans will be carrying fewer cards, and will make the 16-digit credit or debit card number printed on every card increasingly irrelevant.
At Shoals-based Bank Independent, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Digital Content Kelly O. Burdette said any changes made to streamline financial services is a plus.
“It is exciting to see all the advancements being developed in payments,” he told 256 Today. “As we continue to all focus on how to allow customers to make payments and to make them is better for all parties.”
According to AP, the changes will be some of the most significant for making payments in the country since the introduction of chip-embedded cards. The modifications also come as Americans have many more options to pay for purchases beyond “credit or debit,” including buy now, pay later companies, peer-to-peer payment options, paying directly with a bank, or digital payment systems such as Apple Pay.
There are two key components that ensure a positive payment experience: ease of use and safety. The financial industry continues to innovate to make payments frictionless and in a safe and secure manner.
“I think (with these features) we’re getting past the point where consumers may never need to manually enter an account number ever again,” Mark Nelsen, Visa’s global head of consumer payments, said in an AP interview.
The biggest change coming will be the ability for banks to issue one physical payment card that will be connected to multiple bank accounts. That means no more carrying, for example, a Bank of America or Chase debit card as well as their respective credit cards in a physical wallet. Customers will be able to set criteria with their bank — such as having all purchases below $100 or with a certain merchant applied to the debit card, while other purchases go on the credit card.
Some of Visa’s new features are in response to online-payments fraud.
Among the other updates unveiled by Visa are changes to tap-to-pay features. Customers will be able to tap their credit or debit cards to their smartphones to add the card to mobile wallets, instead of using a smartphone’s camera to scan in a card’s information, or tap the card to their smartphones to approve a transaction online.
Visa will also start implementing biometrics to approve transactions, similar to how Apple devices use a fingerprint or face scan to approve transactions.
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