LINE Pay enters into fintech partnership with Visa

LINE Pay Corporation and payments services provider Visa Inc (NYSE:V) today announce a strategic partnership that will see them create new financial services experiences for their collective user bases of millions of consumers and merchants worldwide. 

The two companies will collaborate across numerous areas, ranging from everyday consumer payments to fintech services.

The users of LINE messaging app will be able to apply for a digital Visa card from within the LINE app, and over time, add any of their existing Visa cards to make seamless payments from their mobile phone. The companies will also offer users additional and enhanced experiences like integrated loyalty programs and tailored offers and new payment capabilities for users when they travel overseas.

Further, through Visa, LINE Pay users will be able to use LINE Pay branded capabilities at Visa’s 54 million merchant locations worldwide, enabling them to take advantage of LINE Pay offers and services. They will also be able to see these transactions in their LINE Pay digital wallet, even where LINE Pay is not directly accepted. In addition, LINE Pay and Visa will collaborate on ways for merchants to interact with the LINE Pay service as well as LINE Pay digital wallet, supporting the continued growth of globally interoperable payments.

With regard to fintech services, LINE Pay and Visa will develop new experiences based on blockchain that enable B2B and cross-border payments and alternative currency transactions.

This new partnership extends the existing relationship between LINE Pay and Visa, which includes co-branded LINE Pay Visa cards in Taiwan and to be launched later this year in Japan.

Messaging apps continue to gain importance in digital commerce, as consumers look for more of their everyday tasks, like payments, to be integrated with the apps where they are spending more of their time.