Visa Direct

Transfer funds seamlessly, securely and quickly

Key Features:

  • Push payments to over one billion eligible Visa accounts
  • Fund transfers from a variety of sources
  • Use APIs inside ATM, mobile, web, and in-branch applications
  View Documentation & Sandbox   Create a Test App 

What is Visa Direct?

Visa Direct offers real-time push payment capabilities that utilize Visa’s global payment system, one of the world’s largest electronic payments network. Through their participating financial institutions, businesses and consumers can use the Visa network to send money to over one billion eligible Visa card accounts.

Visa Direct also offers the capability to push payments to other U.S. debit networks using the Visa Push Payments Gateway Service (PPGS) and the Funds Transfer APIs. PPGS allows originators to send their PushFundsTransactions (OCTs) and PullFundsTransactions (AFTs) to Visa for routing to multiple U.S. debit networks. The service provides authorization, clearing, settlement, reporting and exception processing support for debit networks. VisaNet translates and reformats the message into the correct network format, rather than an originator having to develop and maintain transaction formats for each debit network.

Notes : Real-time payment - Actual funds availability varies by financial institution. Visa requires some issuers in some countries to make funds available to its cardholders within a maximum of 30 minutes of approving the transaction. For country level information, please contact your Visa representative. 

How Does it Work?

Visa Direct provides Originators (financial institutions and eligible third parties such as person-to-person payment service providers, merchants, corporations, financial technology companies and service providers, through their applicable financial institutions) with a mechanism to push payments directly into Visa card accounts. This push payment capability is delivered through the use of the Original Credit Transaction (OCT), a Visa network transaction that enables eligible Visa cards to receive push payment credits. Visa Direct Originators can submit OCTs either as ISO-formatted messages through a Visa network endpoint connection or directly into the Visa network as an API call using the Funds Transfer APIs. Originators can use this transaction and the underlying framework of rules and controls to create new consumer and business-facing services.

An OCT can be funded through a variety of sources; for example, any network payment account or a bank account. In addition to the OCT, Visa Direct also supports the Account Funding Transaction (AFT), a Visa network transaction that enables funds to be pulled from an eligible Visa account. As with the OCT, Visa Direct Originators can submit AFT transactions as either an ISO message or directly through an API call to the Funds Transfer APIs.

Originators can use the Funds Transfer APIs (or the ISO transaction) to pull funds (the AFT) from a Visa card account and to push funds (the OCT) into a Visa card account. AFTs can only be used to fund other non-merchant accounts. Once an AFT or OCT transaction is submitted into VisaNet (via API or ISO message), it travels across the Visa network and uses existing clearing and settlement mechanisms to manage the movement of funds between the sending and receiving issuers.

Notes :

1. Real-time payments - Actual funds availability varies by financial institution. Visa requires some issuers in some countries to make funds available to its cardholders within a maximum of 30 minutes of approving the transaction. For country level information, please contact your Visa representative. 

2. Originators - Originators must be a Visa licensed acquirer or be sponsored by a Visa licensed acquirer. Third party service providers who offer push payment services to others (consumers or businesses) can be sponsored by a Visa licensed acquirer to offer push payment capabilities to Visa card accounts.

Why Use It?

Visa Direct can help your business develop fast, convenient, innovative and secure payment experiences. Use Visa’s familiar and reliable global network and distribution systems to create an entirely new class of services using the Visa Direct push payment capability. Some of the opportunities include:

Person-to-person payments

Visa Direct’s real-time payment capabilities open up new, more convenient payment experiences for many different use cases, including:

  • Paying friends and family
  • Splitting bills
  • Sending remittances
  • Account transfer

Funds disbursements

Visa Direct offers fast and efficient funds disbursement options for a variety of different applications including:

  • Reimbursements
  • Refunds
  • Rebates
  • Payouts
  • Loan distributions
  • Government disbursements

Through the mVisa API, Visa Direct also enables mobile-based merchant payments using the OCT. mVisa is presently available only in selected markets. Contact your Visa representative for details.

Visa Direct offers:

  • Speed: Transactions are processed in real-time.
  • Simplicity: An opportunity to create improved customer experience to enable fast payments to all eligible debit or prepaid cards.
  • Scale: Visa’s trusted expertise and capabilities to help you as you launch, grow, or enhance the payment experience for your customers.
  • Reliability: The reliability of the Visa network and framework of rules and controls to handle exceptions, manage risk and fraud and provide value-added services.
  • Security: A safe way to pay your customers, backed by Visa’s leading payment security.

Notes : Real-time payments - Actual funds availability varies by financial institution. Visa requires some issuers in some countries to make funds available to its cardholders within a maximum of 30 minutes of approving the transaction. For country level information, please contact your Visa representative.

Who Can Use It?

  • Issuers

  • Acquirers

  • Merchants

  • Payment Service Providers

  • Governments and Corporations

APIs Included

Funds Transfer

The Funds Transfer API pulls funds from a sender’s Visa account (usually to fund a push payment to a recipient’s account) by initiating an Account Funding Transaction. It can then be followed by a push payment to a recipient’s Visa account that initiates an Original Credit Transaction. Push payment is a standalone capability and can be used either in conjunction with a pull payment (if the source of funds is a Visa card) or independently (if the source of funds is not a Visa card). Should a push payment be declined, the Funds Transfer API can also be used to return the funds to the sender’s funding source.

 

Watch List Screening

The Watch List Screening API provides a score that evaluates how closely an individual's name, city, and country match to entries in the OFAC SDN watch list. It also provides a status value that indicates if Visa would likely decline a cross-border transaction involving this individual.

mVisa

The mVisa API has been optimized to push payments for mobile-to-mobile card-less merchant payments as well as for cash in or cash out to a Visa card. This capability is currently available only in select markets. Please contact your Visa representative for more information.

 

Reports

The Reports API provides reporting capabilities such as transaction reconciliation data in the API response. The data needed for reconciliation includes both push (OCT) and pull (AFT) transaction details and any exceptions such as chargebacks and reversals. This data is provided to allow you to reconcile the transactions sent by your systems with what was processed through VisaNet and may be used solely for such purposes.

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