Visa (V) & GSMA Foundation Partner to Drive Financial Inclusion
Visa Inc. V recently announced the launch of the Digital Finance for All (DFA) Initiative in collaboration with the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation (GSMA Foundation). This is a five-year initiative that sets out to promote digital financial inclusion for roughly 20 million people, including small holder farmers (SHF) and nano, micro and small enterprise (NMSE) owners. This move bodes well for Visa as financial inclusion and greater adoption of digital payments should buoy its results.
This initiative is targeting individuals, including women from low and middle-income countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. While greater access to mobiles has promoted a rise in digital payments, there remains a gender gap in phone ownership and Internet use. Per The Global Findex Database 2021 report, digital payments have risen by 66% from 2014 in low and middle-income countries. There is a 20% less probability for women in these countries to hold a financial account. SHFs also have limited to no access to formal financial services like loans, savings and credit.
DFA will provide financial education resources through a mobile financial literacy toolkit, enabling greater participation and access to mobile money services. This initiative will translate to a higher number of individuals under the ambit of the digital economy, thereby enhancing Visa’s top line in the future. Countries like Africa are a large market for mobile money services, and Visa is seen partnering with local players to get a slice of the rapid digital transformation in those markets. Visa’s Visa Direct solution aims to allow users to receive or send money from any mobile money account or Visa card across the world. This will increase the volume of transactions in Visa’s network and boost its presence in the untapped markets.
DFA will also work with the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute and GSMA Foundation to develop joint research on advocacy, financial inclusion and product innovation for SHFs, NMSEs, women and globally displaced individuals. With this partnership, Visa is looking to tackle the barrier of financial and poor digital literacy toward financial inclusion.
Price Performance
Shares of Visa have gained 30.1% in the past year compared with the industry’s 25.5% growth.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Visa currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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