Visa Checkout Launches in Singapore to Simplify Online Shopping
01/27/2016
Two in three online shoppers abandon their shopping carts as they find the payment process too cumbersome or time consuming1
Singapore - Visa today announced the launch of Visa Checkout, a quick and easy payment service that enables Singaporean consumers to pay for goods online, on any device, in just a few clicks. This new service addresses the frustration experienced by many online shoppers by reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase online.
With internet penetration at 81 per cent and the highest smartphone penetration rate globally (88%)2 Singaporeans are among the top online shoppers in Southeast Asia. Seventy one per cent of Singaporeans shop online at least once a month, an increase from 59 per cent last year3.
However, despite the high rate of browsing online, two in three Singaporean shoppers have abandoned a purchase because it took too much time to complete the payment process or it was too cumbersome to enter their personal details4. The top five categories for abandoned purchases are fashion and accessories, travel, movie tickets, bill payment and fines and groceries5.
“As more people start to spend more time and money online, particularly using mobile devices, they are also demanding a fast, secure and frictionless way to shop online. Visa Checkout addresses some of the problems faced by online shoppers by reducing the number of steps required for them to complete their online purchases, thus enhancing the entire shopping experience. The solution can be used on any device and this is crucial since abandoned transactions online are more likely to be on mobile devices (55 per cent)6,” said Ms. Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei.
Easier Way to Pay
Visa Checkout is a streamlined checkout experience that is intuitive to use and saves shoppers time. Users simply enter a username and password to pay, rather than a 16-digit payment card number and expiry date for every transaction. Online purchases can easily be completed using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC.
Visa Checkout is now accepted at a wide variety of online retailers in Singapore including Golden Village, Spizza, Cold Storage, Guardian, Giant, Aviva and ComGateway. More retailers across a variety of industries, including online travel agency Zuji and supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice, will be coming onboard in the next few months.
“Golden Village is honoured to be the first in Singapore to offer Visa Checkout. Visa Checkout is aligned with GV’s key objectives of offering a speedy, hassle-free transaction, thereby enhancing the movie ticket purchase experience on GV website and iGV app. Initial adoption rates are promising and we expect even more Singaporeans to embrace the service over the coming months,” said Clara Cheo, Chief Executive Officer for Golden Village.
Expanding Globally
Since its launch in 2014, more than 10 million users have signed up for Visa Checkout accounts. More than 250,000 large and small merchants and 600 financial institution partners from around the world offer Visa Checkout. These represent some of the biggest retailers on the internet, including Abercrombie, Orbitz, Shutterfly and Virgin America.
Visa Checkout is available in 16 markets around the world. These include: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mainland China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
In Singapore, the following banks are currently live for Visa Checkout enrolment include ANZ, Bank of China, Citibank, DBS, ICBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB.
Sign up for Visa Checkout at any time through a participating bank, or merchant checkout page or directly at www.visacheckout.com.sg.
Merchant offer:
Cardholders who purchase movie tickets on Golden Village using Visa Checkout can enjoy the following offers:
• Buy 4 movie tickets for the price of 3 with any Visa Platinum, Visa Signature or Visa Infinite card
• Enjoy the exclusive Gold Class Infinite Experience Package for two and enjoy up to 28 per cent discount.
*Terms and conditions apply
1 eCommerce Monitor 2015. This study was conducted by Visa on 705 respondents in Singapore during May 2015. The study was conducted online on respondents aged 18-55 years old who access internet at least once a week to find out about their eCommerce behaviour.
2 Internetlivestats; internet penetration.
3 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015.
4 eCommerce Monitor 2015.
5 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015.
6 Visa mCommerce Study 2015. Visa mCommerce vs eCommerce usage survey was conducted by Acorn Marketing & Research on behalf of Visa. 300 respondents aged 21 to 49 from Singapore participated in the online survey conducted in December 2014 to understand online shopping behavior.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations; however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit www.visa.com.sg