Visa Click to Pay

Merchants and Payment Service Providers

Visa Click to Pay API Overview

What is Visa Click to Pay?

Visa Click to Pay is Visa's implementation of the EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) framework. It is a digital payments platform that addresses common online checkout challenges:

  • Eliminates repetitive data entry - Consumers access stored payment credentials without re-entering card details
  • Enhances security - Robust authentication methods (3DS (Visa Secure) and Visa Payment Passkey) protect transactions
  • Provides flexibility - Integration models to fit various business needs Visa Click to Pay connects consumer identities to payment credentials, creating consistent authentication across channels.

Visa Click to Pay connects consumer identities to payment credentials, creating consistent authentication across channels.

What is the Visa Click to Pay API?

The Visa Click to Pay API enables partners to integrate Visa’s Click to Pay capabilities directly into their own checkout and payment experiences using REST API endpoints.

Through the Visa Click to Pay API, partners can retrieve Visa payment credentials on demand, authenticate consumers, and complete transactions without requiring consumers to manually enter card details. This allows partners to deliver streamlined checkout experiences while Visa manages sensitive payment credentials and authentication.

Using the API allows partners to:

  • Maintain control over the checkout experience while leveraging Visa‑managed credential storage, tokenization, and authentication
  • Support more than browser‑based checkout, including native mobile apps, marketplaces, wallets, and emerging digital payment experiences

What the Visa Click to Pay API Enables

The Visa Click to Pay APIs provide a set of endpoints that support the full Click to Pay journey, including:

  • Consumer identity lookup and validation
  • Card enrolment and credential management
  • Retrieval of masked, tokenized Visa cards
  • Checkout with optional step‑up authentication
  • Transaction payload retrieval and transaction confirmation

Together, these capabilities allow partners to build secure, streamlined checkout experiences while maintaining control over their own user experience.

High-Level Conceptual Diagram

Understanding SRC Roles to Enable Click to Pay

Familiarize yourself with SRC participant roles:

  • SRC Initiator (SRCi): Initiates SRC transactions, typically merchants or payment facilitators
    • Non-Payment SRCi: An entity that performs most API actions, excluding Payload Retrieval. Responsible for DPA (merchant) onboarding
    • Payment SRCi: An entity that performs all the actions of a Non-Payment SRCi, and also may process and handle transaction payloads for the purposes of submitting authorization. Responsible for DPA (merchant) onboarding
    • SRCi Enabler: An entity that creates and distributes a solution to enable a Payment SRCi and/or a Non-Payment SRCi to provide SRCi functions to DPAs under their own brand without an independent connection to Visa Click to Pay. SRCi Enablers must be certified as a Payment SRCi, Non-Payment SRCi, or both.
  • Digital Payment Application (DPA): Any payment-enabled application that facilitates a payment between the acceptance environment and a consumer using a payment card within an SRC ecosystem. Also referred to as a merchant.

Integration Models

Visa Click to Pay API supports an EMVCo‑branded checkout integration model.

In this model, partners (SRCIs) follow the EMVCo Click to Pay customer experience guidelines and present the Click to Pay icon and user experience as required by those guidelines.

Note: Any deviations from the standard EMVCo‑branded Click to Pay user experience are subject to Visa approval. Partners should contact their Visa representative for additional guidance.

This document outlines the rules, requirements, and recommendations to implement Visa Click to Pay APIs to support EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce transactions.

There are seven Visa Click to Pay API endpoints that enable:

Next Steps

Getting Started First Steps Onboarding Glossary
Learn how to start your Visa Click to Pay API integration. 
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Try calling your first Click to Pay API call. 
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Understand the steps required to onboard to Visa Click to Pay. 
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Learn about the key terms and acronyms for Visa Click to Pay and SRC. 
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