Using Visa’s network of networks, Visa Direct Account and Wallet enables Visa Direct Clients to send funds to accounts or wallets globally while meeting expectations for fast transactional speed and effective liquidity management. Visa Direct Account and Wallet provides cross-border payment services to Visa Direct Clients. A Visa Direct Client in one country can send funds to a Rrecipient in another country.
Visa Direct Account and Wallet includes:
As an Originating Entity, Visa Direct Account and Wallet provides you with a means to initiate a push payment transaction from within your own web, mobile, ATM, corporate systems, or branch platforms. Push payments enable many consumer and business-facing applications, including person-to-person money transfers as well as corporate disbursements.
Visa Direct Account
Visa Direct Account sends payouts to bank accounts via the Visa network using its ACH/RTP fulfilment method. Visa Direct Account is available2 for cross border payouts. Visa offers the service through Visa Payments Limited (VPL) who can use their partner banking network to deliver the payout to the Recipient’s bank account using the relevant local funds transfer scheme/network. The scope of the service includes real-time processing of the messages through which the payment instructions can be sent, a global settlement service that facilitates money movement and other related value-added services (e.g., foreign exchange service, notification and cancellation services).
Visa Direct Wallet
Visa Direct Wallet sends payouts to wallets via the Visa network. Visa Direct Wallet is available for cross border payouts. Visa offers the service through Visa Payments Limited (VPL) who can use their network of Wallet Aggregators and Wallet Operators to deliver the payout to the Recipient's wallet. The scope of this service includes real-time processing of the messages through which the payment instructions can be sent, a global settlement service that facilitates money movement and other related value-added services (e.g. foreign exchange service, notification and validation services).
Step 1: The sender initiates a payment using a visa direct client.
Step 2: The Visa Direct Client processes the payment through the Visa Direct Gateway.
Step 3: The Visa Direct Gateway connects to the Visa Payments Limited (VPL) banking network.
Step 4: The local funds transfer scheme/network is utilized to identify appropriate network partners.
Step 5: After a network partner has been identified, the payment is transferred to the recipients financial institution.
Visa Direct Account
Visa Direct Account (VDA) service sends payouts to bank accounts via the Visa network using its ACH/RTP fulfilment method. The visa direct account service is available2 for cross border payouts. In order to deliver the visa direct account payout, Visa offers the service through Visa Payments Limited (VPL) who can use their partner banking network to deliver the payout to the Recipient’s bank account using the relevant local funds transfer scheme/network. The scope of the service includes real-time processing of the messages through which the payment instructions can be sent, a global settlement service that facilitates money movement and other related value-added services (e.g., foreign exchange service, notification and cancellation services).
Visa Direct Account and Wallet Stakeholders
| Participant | Description |
|---|---|
Originating Entity |
An entity or Service Provider that offers money movement services to the Sender. This may be the same entity as the Visa Direct Client or the Sender |
Network Partner |
An institution or business contracted by Visa Payments Limited to provide access to settlement services in each relevant jurisdiction, and/or its subcontractor(s) The Network Partner processes and settles payouts to accounts in each country of operation. The Network Partners’ connections to the local schemes are used to reach the Recipient Financial Institution. The Recipient Financial Institution will receive the payout(s) under the rules or laws of the local payment scheme.
Note – The Visa Direct Wallet transaction flow does not involve the Network Partners, but it involves other wallet partners such as Wallet Operators or Wallet Aggregators. |
| Recipient’s Financial Institution | The Recipient Financial Institution owns the relationship with the Recipient of the payout. Visa does not have any relationship with this entity in respect of its Visa Direct Account and Wallet offerings unless this is the same entity as the Network Partner. Also known by the ISO term “beneficiary bank”. |
| Recipient | The individual or corporate entity that receives the payout. Also known by the ISO term “ultimate beneficiary”. |
| Sender | The individual or corporate entity that is sending money to the Recipient. The Sender may be a consumer or a business. Also known by the ISO terms "ultimate remitter” or “ultimate debtor “. |
| Technology Service Provider | The entity that enables transaction processing with Visa on behalf of Visa Direct Clients. Technology Service Providers do not handle funds. |
| Visa Direct Client | The entity contracted with Visa to originate payouts or to sponsor the Originating Entity. Also know by the ISO term “debtor”. |
| Visa Payments Limited (VPL) | Visa Payments Limited (VPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa and accepts the payout instructions and funds (directly or indirectly) from Visa Direct Clients/Originating Entity and uses a proprietary network via its Network Partners to send the payout to the Recipient Financial Institution, Wallet Operator or Wallet Aggregator. In certain circumstances, VPL maybe the Visa entity contracting directly with the Visa Direct Clients. |
| Visa | Refers to the entire Visa group, comprising Visa Inc. and each of its wholly owned subsidiaries |
| Wallet Operator | The entity contracting with VPL to receive the payout as holding the Recipient’s wallet. The Wallet Operator owns the wallet program and the relationship with the Recipient of the payment. |
| Wallet Aggregator | The entity contracting with VPL to accept the wallet payout instructions and settlement from VPL to send the payout to the Wallet Operator holding the Recipient’s wallet. |
Step 1: The sender initiates a payment using a visa direct client.
Step 2: The Visa Direct Client processes the payment through the Visa Direct Gateway.
Step 3: The Visa Direct Gateway connects to the Visa Payments Limited (VPL) network.
Step 4: A network of waller aggregators and operators on the VPL is utilized facilitate the transaction.
Step 5: The payment is transferred to the recipients financial institution.
Visa Direct Wallet sends payouts to wallets via the Visa network. Visa Direct Wallet is available for cross border payouts. Visa offers the service through Visa Payments Limited (VPL) who can use their network of Wallet Aggregators and Wallet Operators to deliver the payout to the Recipient's wallet. The scope of this service includes real-time processing of the messages through which the payment instructions can be sent, a global settlement service that facilitates money movement and other related value-added services (e.g. foreign exchange service, notification and validation services).
The following table outlines examples of consumer and business services that can be built using the Visa Direct Account and Wallet APIs and highlights the accounts that can receive payouts. Please contact [email protected] for further information or to request that Visa review and approve other use cases you may envision for Visa Direct Account and Wallet.
Visa Direct Account and Wallet APIs enables clients to send funds to number of bank accounts across the world. Availability varies by region, contact your Visa representative for more information.
| Destination Account Type | Geographic Scope | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa Direct Account Services (VDA) | Bank Account | Domestic | Cross-Border |
| P2P Money Transfer | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Funds Disbursements | ✓ | ✓ | |
Visa Direct Account and Wallet API enables clients to send funds to number of online wallets across the world. Availability varies by region, contact your Visa representative for more information
| Destination Wallet Types |
Geographic Scope | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa Direct Wallet Services (VDW) | Wallet type | Domestic | Cross-Border |
| P2P Money Transfer |
✓ | ✓ | |
Visa Direct Account and Wallet can help your business develop fast, convenient, innovative and secure payment experiences. Use Visa’s familiar global network and distribution systems to enable digital services using Visa Direct Account and Wallet capability. Some of the opportunities include:
| Person-to-Person Payments | Funds Disbursements |
|---|---|
Visa Direct Account and Wallet capabilities open up more convenient payment experiences for many different use cases, including:
|
Visa Direct Account and Wallet offers fast and efficient fund disbursement options for a variety of different applications including:
|
Send Payout API
The Send Payout API allows Originating Entities to send payouts to a bank account and a wallet. Visa will then route the payment request based via Visa Payments Limited (VPL). If the payment method is to a bank account, VPL will send the payment instruction to a Network Partner. The Network Partner will send the credit directly to the Recipient Financial Institution who will credit the Recipient’s account. If the payment method is to a wallet, VPL will send the payment to either Wallet Aggregator or Wallet Operator. The Wallet Aggregator or Wallet Operator will send the credit directly to the Recipient wallet.
Validate Payout API
Designed to reduce payout errors, the Validate Payout API allows Originating Entities to validate account and wallet transactions PRIOR to the payout being sent via the Send Payout API for clearing and settlement. The Validation API performs schema check (format, mandatory fields, etc.) and route specific check (based on Network Partner and Wallet Aggregator and Wallet Operator requirements) and exposes validation errors identifying where the Originating Entity should make corrections prior to payout.
Query Payout API
The Query Payout API allows Originating Entities to query in real-time the processing status of Visa Direct Account and Wallet transactions. Query API checks the latest state of an account or wallet transactions and returns the results; transaction successfully or erroneously received and processed by Visa and/or the financial institutions. Query API can also be invoked when there is no response returned from Visa for the Send Payout API.
Retention Period - 180 days. A transaction can be queried within 180 days from the date it was originated. After this period, the transaction can no longer be queried through API.
Cancel Payout API
Originating Entity may request to cancel a transaction and stop a payment in scenarios where the Sender sent to an incorrect recipient or the wrong amount in the payout instruction or sent a duplicate payout in error. Visa can accept the cancellation request if the payment has not been sent to Network Partner or Wallet Aggregator or Wallet Operator. If Visa has accepted the cancel request, then it will initiate a Notification/Return transaction to the Originating Entity.
Retention Period - 90 days. A transaction can be cancelled within 90 days from the date it was originated. After this period, the transaction can no longer be cancelled through API.
Payout Status Notification API
The Originating Entity will be notified of the initial transaction status of a account or wallet payout transaction as well as of any status changes at each key step, along with the updated expected posting date.
Retention Period - 180 days. The information provided in the Payout Status Notification API is available to be queried for 180 days.
Payout Return Notification API
Payouts sent to a bank account or wallet may get returned back for multiple reasons, for example, if the bank account or wallet details provided are not accurate, or the account or wallet details are accurate but the account or wallet is not active or the Originating Entity has requested to cancel the payout if it is funded. In such cases, Visa will send the payout return notification request to the Originating Entity.
Retention Period - 180 days. The information provided in the Payout Return Notification API is available to be queried for 180 days.
Ledger Notification API
This API conveys details of the debits/credit entries posted to an Originating Entity’s settlement account with Visa for a given processing day.
Get Account Balance API
The Originating Entity can check its Virtual Account balance for associated currency using Get Account Balance API.
As part of continuing security improvements, Visa enabled Message Level Encryption (MLE) for Visa Direct APIs. Clients using Visa Direct APIs are required to support MLE in both certification and production environment.
For existing clients already using Visa Direct APIs, please refer to "New Encryption Requirements for Visa Direct APIs” in the Visa Business News, dated 17 October 2019 for adoption timelines.
Refer to the Message Level Encryption guide at the Visa Developer Center website for instructions on using MLE.
The following table lists the regional availability for Visa Direct Payouts. To view availability of all products, refer to the Availability Matrix.
| North America | Asia-Pacific | Europe | CEMEA | LAC |
|---|
This section provides the clients with an overview of the implementation considerations associated with using Visa Direct Account and Wallet APIs.
Forms, Licenses, and Registration
The following table outlines the forms, licenses, and registration activities for Originating Entities implementing Visa Direct Account and Wallet APIs. Clients must complete any required form to participate in the Visa Direct Account and Wallet program.
Contact your Visa Account Representative for information on obtaining any necessary forms and/or licenses.
Form |
Requirements |
|---|---|
Service Requirement Form (SRF) |
Mandatory An SRF will need to be completed by the Visa Direct Client for configuration and installation in Visa system. This is needed before the client can start testing in the VCMS (Certification) environment OR move into Production. |
Visa Direct Account and Wallet API - Client Onboarding Form |
Mandatory This form is used to register which Visa Direct APIs the Acquirer, service provider or merchants will use to provide the Visa Direct Account and Wallet program. This is required when the client is ready to be certified for VDP. This process is automated on the Visa Developer Portal. |
Visa Direct Payout API Server Certificate |
Mandatory Client uses Visa Direct Payout API will have to provide server certificate signed by an authorized Certificate Authority (CA). |
Sandbox Testing
Once API development has been completed, clients can proceed with integration testing in the sandbox environment. The objective of Sandbox testing is to ensure the Originating Entity can properly send and receive the API messages associated to the Visa Direct Account and Wallet APIs. Test data will be provided to facilitate this testing phase. VCMS certification testing will only be arranged after the Sandbox testing is successfully completed.
Please note that sandbox has limited testing use-case with limited set of APIs.
API name |
HTTP Method |
Accept |
Hosted by |
Description |
Validate Payout |
POST |
application/json |
Visa |
https://sandbox.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts/validate |
Send Payout |
POST |
application/json |
Visa |
https://sandbox.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts |
Query payout |
GET |
application/json |
Visa |
https://sandbox.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts?<Query Parameters> |
Get Account Balance |
GET |
application/json |
Visa |
https://sandbox.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/accountBalance?<Query Parameters> |
Cancel Payout |
DELETE |
application/json |
Visa |
https://sandbox.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts?<Query Parameters> |
Payout Status Notification |
POST |
application/json |
Client |
<client url> |
Payout Return Notification |
POST |
application/json |
Client |
<client url> |
| Ledger otification | POST | application/json | Client | <client url> |
Certification Environment Testing
Once basic Visa Direct Account and Wallet API Sandbox integration testing has been completed successfully, clients are able to perform end-to-end testing in the Certification environment before going live. This may be an attended certification testing phase administered by Visa’s Testing team. The certification environment allows the clients to test all components in the transaction lifecycle all the way through settlement and exception management.
API name |
HTTP Method |
Accept |
Hosted by |
Description |
Validate Payout |
POST |
application/json |
Visa |
|
Send Payout |
POST |
application/json |
Visa |
|
Query payout |
GET |
application/json |
Visa |
https://cert.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts?<Query Parameters> |
Get Account Balance |
GET |
application/json |
Visa |
https://cert.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/accountBalance?<Query Parameters> |
Cancel Payout |
DELETE |
application/json |
Visa |
https://cert.api.visa.com/visapayouts/v3/payouts?<Query Parameters> |
Payout Status Notification |
POST |
application/json |
Client |
<client url> |
Payout Return Notification |
POST |
application/json |
Client |
<client url> |
| Ledger otification | POST | application/json | Client | <client url> |
This section briefly describes the onboarding process with Visa Direct Acccount and Wallet APIs, and the mechanism used by Visa to ensure that the transactions are processed securely.
Complete Client Onboarding Form
Clients are required to complete the Client Onboarding Form, providing information about the client and the setup required to be configured. Separate forms are required to be completed for onboarding to Sandbox, VCMS and Production.
The following table contains some of the key information that have to be provided to complete the setup:
Onboarding Form: Key Information
BID |
The Originating Acquirer's Business Identifier |
|---|---|
MLE |
Message Level Encryption flag, should be true for Payouts projects |
ALLOWED APIS |
List of APIs that Originating Enteties can subscribe to:
Note: There are several other available APIs that can be used by clients to build the complete functionality (e.g., FX API. Clients should work with their Visa representative to identify all relevant APIs and include them in this onboarding form. |
Information to Clients
Visa URL |
URLs to post messages to Visa API endpoint |
|---|---|
Key ID |
A unique ID which is used to determine the RSA keys needed to encrypt/ decrypt data. |
RSA key (encryption/ decryption key) |
Private/public key to be used encrypt/decrypt request and response. |
Setup Mutual SSL Authentication
Payout API secures its connection with client using mutual SSL authentication. This is a process which both the server and client have to authenticate each other, to ensure each other’s identity.
To establish the SSL connection, the following are required:
Note: Refer to Authentication and Encryption for more details
Managing Security of Data Elements
There is sensitive information in the payout request (e.g. recipient bank or card details). The request has to be encrypted by the client using standard JWE before sending to Visa endpoints, while the response needs to be decrypted. The client should use the Key ID and RSA keys to encrypt/decrypt request/response
Note: Refer to Message Level Encryption for more details
Visa Direct Payouts Regional Mailboxes
To reach the various regional product offices please use these email addresses:
Please contact your Visa representative to obtain a copy of below guides
Title |
Description |
Visa Direct Account and Wallet Program Guide |
This program guide provides an overview of the Visa Direct Account and Wallet service for “acccount” and "wallet" payouts, including operating rules, participation framework and implementation guidelines for Originators to implement this functionality. |
Visa Direct Account and Wallet - Endpoint Guide |
This guide provides the country specific details (e.g. cutoff times, limits, required data elements etc.) for all recipient markets where Visa supports payouts to bank accounts or wallets through a partner bank network and Wallet aggregators/Operators. |
Foreign Exchange Rates
Get Visa's latest Foreign Exchange rates instantly.
Disclaimers
¹Actual fund availability varies by receiving financial institution, receiving account type, region, and whether transaction is domestic or cross-border.
2Availability varies by market. Please refer to your Visa representative for more information on availability.
3Use cases are for illustrative purposes only. Program providers are responsible for their programs and compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.
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