Global card payment company Visa has announced today that it plans to invest $100 million in companies developing generative AI technologies and applications that will influence the future of commerce and payments. The investments will be made through Visa Ventures, the card giant’s 16-year-old global corporate investment arm.
Undoubtedly, Visa is one of the pioneers of AI use in payments, deploying AI-based technology for risk and fraud management. In 2021, Visa also introduced VisaNet +AI, a suite of AI-based services focused on fixing delays and confusion with managing account balances and other issues of daily settlement for financial institutions. In 2022, Visa Advanced Authorization reportedly helped prevent an estimated $27 billion fraud.
According to Visa, the initiative is an extension of the company’s leadership in AI use to drive innovation in payments, create value for partners and clients, and enable and empower global commerce. According to Visa chief product and strategy officer Jack Forestell, generative AI has a promising future in the financial world. He said:
“While much of generative AI so far has been focused on tasks and content creation, this technology will soon not only reshape how we live and work, but it will also meaningfully change commerce in ways we need to understand.”
As for criteria, Visa is looking to back companies that are “applying GenAI to solve real problems in commerce, payments, and fintech.”
