Visa+ Integration Expands Cross-Border Payments on PayPal and Venmo

Interoperability in payments, the ability to pay anyone, anywhere, regardless of the network, is a long-sought goal in the payments industry. This week, PayPal and Venmo took a significant step in this direction by introducing Visa’s peer-to-peer (P2P) payment system, Visa+, to their platforms, as stated in PYMNTS.

Visa+ allows users to create a personalized payment address, known as a payname, which can be linked to their P2P accounts without the need to share mobile phone numbers or email addresses. This integration enables seamless cross-platform fund transfers. Additionally, Visa+ leverages Visa Direct for real-time disbursements, facilitating faster business-to-consumer (B2C) payments.

The expansion of Visa+ into PayPal and Venmo follows earlier announcements that Astra, Brightwell, Cross River Bank, and Fiserv plan to implement Visa+ APIs for their digital wallet and merchant clients by the fall. This move reflects a growing trend towards cross-border, cross-network, and cross-wallet compatibility in the payments landscape.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence, only 23% of small businesses consider current cross-border payment solutions to be «very or extremely satisfactory.» The report also indicates a 38% increase in cross-border payments sent or received by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as recently as 2021.

Visa+ was introduced just over a year ago with a process that allows the sender’s app to request an underlying token from the Visa+ service, facilitating real-time crediting of payments to the recipient’s wallet. Western Union has also joined this initiative, further underlining the growing importance of cross-border payments.

In March, Visa and Western Union expanded their partnership to develop disbursement programs for humanitarian organizations and governments. These programs aim to support disaster relief efforts, humanitarian payouts, cross-border pension disbursements, and domestic benefits payouts. This collaboration builds on Western Union’s previous integrations with Visa Direct, which enabled users in the U.S. and Europe to send and receive funds directly to and from eligible Visa cardholders overseas.

The World Bank reported in December that cross-border remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew by 3.8% in 2024, reaching a total of $669 billion. This growth highlights the increasing reliance on cross-border payments and the need for efficient and interoperable payment solutions.

As the payments landscape continues to evolve, the integration of Visa+ into PayPal and Venmo marks a significant milestone towards achieving seamless cross-border payments and improving the overall payment experience for users worldwide.