Global payments technology company Visa has opened its Singapore innovation centre, the first in a 

network of new regional innovation centres that Visa is launching globally.

 

The new 7,000-sq-ft Singapore facility will serve as a destination for clients, partners and developers, across the region, to work alongside Visa experts and jointly create the next generation of payment and commerce applications.

 

This builds off the success of Visa’s flagship innovation centre, One Market Center, which was opened in July 2014, at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco. 

 

Accessible to both local and global clients, the new Singapore innovation centre will provide Visa’s partners with access to Visa APIs and software developer kits (SDKs) available through the company’s Visa Developer Platform. A hands-on, real-time work space staffed by Visa technologists and business leaders, the centre will operate as a commercial gateway, helping Visa’s partners to build market-relevant solutions that extend their service offerings into Asia, said a press release. 

 

“We are pleased that Visa has chosen Singapore to set up its first innovation centre in Asia Pacific,” said Dr Beh Swan Gin, chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board. “The centre will focus on the development of leading-edge technology, new applications and business model innovation for clients and key partners in this region. Visa seeks to collaborate with the broader corporate ecosystem in Singapore, including start-ups.”

 

According to Accenture, fintech investment in the Asia Pacific region has increased significantly from an estimated $880 million in 2014 to nearly $3.5 billion in the first nine months of 2015, with 40 percent of investment deals specific to payments.

 

“The pace of technological innovation across Asia Pacific is unprecedented and creating enormous opportunity for any company that touches the growing payment ecosystem,” said Chris Clark, group executive, Asia Pacific, Visa Inc. “With the doors of Visa’s Singapore innovation centre now officially open, we look forward to working alongside clients and partners to imagine and build the creative and leading-edge mobile and digital experiences Asia Pacific is known to deliver to the rest of the world.”

 

Visa’s global network of innovation centres are an important part of its mission to foster innovation by enabling clients to: 

 

•  Engage: The centre’s immersive environment provides clients and partners with everything they need to work on new digital solutions in a physical space designed to encourage dynamic interaction, real-time experimentation and rapid prototyping. 

•  Experience: Visa emphasizes a human-centred design approach where product development is customer-focused and delivers real benefits for users. 

•  Collaborate: Clients and partners can interact with Visa payment experts and access Visa technology. This includes APIs and SDKs available through Visa Developer Platform. – TradeArabia News Service