Visa has announced Visa Acceptance Cloud (VAC), a new platform that will revolutionise the way businesses accept payments from their customers. Following the success of the company's "Tap to Phone" solution, VAC will allow acquirers, payment service providers, POS makers, and Internet of Things (IoT) participants to migrate payment processing software from being integrated in each hardware device to being universally available in the cloud.

VAC, which is already live in six countries, will assist innovators in turning nearly any device into a cloud-connected payment terminal while also providing Visa with seamless cloud-based software upgrades, comprehensive analytics, and network services. Because VAC is hosted on Visa's servers, it has industry-leading data security capabilities.

"Cloud acceptance is the future of payments," said Mary Kay Bowman, senior vice president and global head of payment and platform products, Visa. "Cloud-connected POS lets sellers accept payments across a range of devices quickly, simply, and safely, whether at an unattended kiosk in a hotel, a mirror in a high-end retail store or virtual in-home gym, or a smart phone in the hands of a small seller with a roadside newsstand." 

In January 2020, Visa first showcased the power of "Tap to Phone," an industry-first solution that transforms current generation Android smartphones and tablets into contactless point of sale terminals. Tap to Phone was Visa's first offering that let sellers accept payments on the devices they already own, just by downloading an app. As of December 2021, there were more than 300,000 devices across 54 countries using Tap to Phone.

Visa Acceptance Cloud goes beyond phones, allowing any POS or connected device to accept payments and add features like buy now, pay later, fraud control, Rapid Seller Onboarding, and comprehensive data analytics. The ongoing tests in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia cater to a variety of use cases, including merchants and restaurants in Australia through Visa's collaboration with US fintech Bleu, NOBAL Technologies' smart mirror, and public transportation in Brazil.

"Bleu is working with Visa to bring seamless payments to businesses across Australia for the very first time," said Sesie Bonsi, President & CEO, Bleu. "While the average business owner can spend as much as $1,000 on POS devices, plus countless hours and more money on time consuming certification processes, moving to Visa Acceptance Cloud removes the barriers of traditional hardware and burdens of device-bound kernel certifications, making it easier for the independent business that we serve to deliver touchless payment options to their customers through any connected device."

"Retailers are looking to enhance their in-store customer experience to meet the speed and convenience of the online and in-store checkout experiences," says Bill Roberts, CEO, NOBAL Technologies. "NOBAL's intelligent mirror in partnership with VAC from Visa provides payment experiences on our mirror without the expense and expertise required for embedded hardware modules, helping us push the future of retail in new ways."

"VAC is a universal platform that helps open up acceptance for all – by freeing our leading technology partners to innovate. On one end of the spectrum, cloud acceptance helps drive inclusion for more small sellers who want to offer digital payments. On the other end, Visa Acceptance Cloud enables advanced shopping and buying experiences that will be central to the future of retail for businesses of all shapes and sizes," continued Bowman. "Moving acceptance to the cloud opens up the possibility of so much innovation from the entire payments ecosystem. This is only the beginning."