• Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI)

    Cultivating new relationships with the global startup community to create the next big thing in commerce.

    Submissions are now closed.

Visa Everywhere Initiative is a global innovation program that tasks start-ups to solve payment challenges of tomorrow, further enhance their own product propositions and provide visionary solutions for Visa's vast network of partners.

The program first launched in the U.S. in 2015 and quickly expanded into a global program with more than 6000+ participating startups, which have collectively raised over $2.5 billion in funding, with more than 257 finalists and 96 winners selected. The program activates in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, touching over 75 countries.

How it works

Learn about exciting opportunities for those participating in the 2019 U.S. Visa Everywhere Initiative.

Visa Everywhere Initiative winners holding big fifty thousand dollar check.

Submissions for the 2019 U.S. Visa Everywhere Initiative are now closed.

Three challenges were issued and focused on solving three distinct business problems. In the end, four finalists were invited to pitch their solutions live in front of Visa leaders and clients at the 2019 Visa Payments Forum in Chicago.

Challenge questions for 2019

Read this year’s challenge questions.

Tyler McIntyre Founder CTO of Novo.

Tyler McIntyre, Founder & CTO
Novo
Winner of Challenge 1

Challenge 1: Driving Digital Issuance

How can FinTechs and emerging technology companies accelerate the adoption of digital payments and financing by making it easier for issuers to provide digital solutions and for consumers to switch to cardless solutions?

The VEI program was great for Novo. We met with some of Visa's top executives to talk about how we can not only improve our card offerings but our entire product. Connecting with other VEI startups also opened the doors to other ways we can work with other fintechs. Awesome experience overall and I'd highly suggest anyone who wants to improve their product and scale their fintech to apply.

Peter Fitzpatrick VP Payments of Agreement Express.

Peter Fitzpatrick, VP
Agreement Express
Winner of Challenge 2

Challenge 2: Enabling digital payments

How can FinTechs and emerging technology companies transform commerce by accelerating the growth and adoption of digital payments through solutions that are easily accessible to consumers and issuers?

Winning the Visa Everywhere Initiative meant including Visa in our strategic planning and product development, helping Agreement Express better understand our market and our growth opportunities. Taking part in VEI gave us the opportunity to get feedback from senior people at one of the world's most important financial institutions, and provided capital to run experiments with product development.

Roland Ligtenberg Co-Founder and SVP Growth Housecall Pro.

Roland Ligtenberg, Co-Founder & SVP Growth
Housecall Pro
Winner of Challenge 3

Challenge 3: Providing Added Value

How can FinTechs and emerging technology companies provide added value to Visa or Visa’s vast network of clients?

The entire Visa Everywhere Initiative from start to finish was extremely rewarding. The competition and other startups participating were all top-notch and impressive. It was a great experience pitching Housecall Pro, our mission of unlocking the potential in every home service provider, and how we currently and plan to utilize FinTech/Driving Digital Issuance to help our Pros go from good
to great.

Learn more about what makes a great submission and pitch for Visa Everywhere Initiative

Developers with laptop, tablets and mobile phones seated around table discussing ideas.

Visa Developer 

Explore our APIs on the Visa Developer Platform to integrate into your pitch.

Woman presenting Visa card for contactless payment.

Visa Ready 

Certify your product with the tools and expertise of the Visa Ready team.

Three people sitting and having a conversation with San Francisco's Ferry Building Marketplace in the background.

What we look for

When evaluating submissions for VEI, we look for startups that have ideas relevant to Visa’s business, a product in market, traction with early customers, and early funding from external investors.

Founder and CEO Craig Buchan from Qpal pitching their winning idea at the Visa’s Everywhere Initiative 2017 Middle East and North Africa Finals.

Sample Pitch

Check out this video of past pitches to see how to present your ideas.

Watch the video

Singapore | South Korea |  VEI: Women's Global Edition

Scroll through to see the history of Visa Everywhere Initiative from the beginning to present.

Man greets people at the Visa Innovation Center Showcase.

November 2017: LAC VEI Finals in Miami

10 finalists from 5 different Latin American countries competed to win the Visa Everywhere Initiative LAC finals at Finnovista fintech conference in Miami. These finals consisted of 3 days of workshops and mentoring sessions for the participating startups before the final pitches.

Speech at a Visa's Everywhere Initiative Event in Dubai.

October 2017: MENA VEI Finals in Dubai

Working to solve challenges around Airport Transit, Acceptance, and Loyalty, 190 startups competed in the Visa Everywhere Initiative MENA challenge. Finalists came from across the Middle East and North Africa region to the finals in Dubai.

Three men pose with their trophies after winning the Visa Everywhere Initiative competition in Europe.

June 2017: VEI live at Money 20/20 Europe

Following an announcement at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Visa launched the first European competition and hosted the finals in Copenhagen at Money 20/20 Europe. 197 startups submitted to pitch to Visa executives to take home the trophy and prize.

Three women pose with their trophies after winning Sydney's Visa Everywhere Initiative competition.

August 2016: VEI expands to Australia and New Zealand

With 90 startups across 3 different challenges, Visa Everywhere Initiative launched with the fifteen finalists pitching in Sydney in September 2016. Specific challenges focused on solving consumer and commercial business problems with Visa APIs.

Woman gives speech at China's Visa Everywhere Initiative competition.

May 2016: VEI goes global

Just a few months after the conclusion of the second US competition, Visa Everywhere Initiative launched internationally with a competition in China, receiving over 100 submissions. Challenges included Engaging the next Generation of Consumers, Connecting with Cardholders, and Driving Cross-Border and Ecommerce Usage.

Man presents on stage at Visa's Everywhere lounge in Texas.

March 2015: VEI Launches

The first Visa Everywhere Initiative launched in the US with 398 applicants, challenging startups with objectives around Inspiring Millennials, Rewarding Members, and Digital Commerce. See below to view the 2015 winners or keep scrolling to learn more about VEI’s history.

Learn more about Visa Everywhere Initiative past winners.

You may also be interested in

Two men standing next to each other with the man on the left holding an award and the man on the right holding a microphone.

Visa Everywhere Initiative in Europe

Visa Everywhere Initiative expands to Europe.

5 people sitting around a table, having a discussion.

Visa Developer Center

APIs and documentation for Visa’s most popular digital payment technologies.

Aerial view of San Francisco bay.

One Market Center

An innovative space to jointly develop the next generation of commerce applications.