Visa has introduced its Future of Retail Roadmap for Saudi Arabia to provide local businesses with expanded and simplified services to meet these evolving demands. Key initiatives in Visa's Saudi Arabia retail strategy Visa's Future of Retail Roadmap uses Visa Acceptance Solutions to assist businesses of all sizes in Saudi Arabia with better commerce experiences.

This includes: Partner integration: the Visa Acceptance Platform now features AI-powered Developer Assist, which helps partners develop advanced payment flows, address testing and certification queries, and provide sample code suggestions. In Saudi Arabia, this platform will integrate with Saudi Payments Gateway (SPG), ensuring clients can access the latest Visa Acceptance Platform features while adhering to local regulations. The platform supports over 450 PSPs and connects with more than 100 independent software vendors (ISVs), facilitating ease of use for over 450,000 active merchants each month across 160 countries and 50 currencies.

It offers tailored solutions across various sectors including retail, hospitality, telecom, and mass transit. Mobile acceptance: despite the high adoption of contactless payments in Saudi Arabia – accounting for 98% of in-store digital transactions – there remains a notable amount of cash transactions. Visa's ‘Tap to Phone’ solution, launched in Saudi Arabia in 2021 in partnership with Saudi Payments, allows merchants to accept contactless payments via a certified smartphone. This low-cost solution is active in 121 countries, with over 6.7 million terminals and a payment volume exceeding USD 8.5 billion annually.

Visa is also exploring new applications for this technology, including a recent pilot in Latin America and the Caribbean that enables consumers to tap their cards on their own devices to complete online purchases. New products and services: at the recent Visa Payments Forum, Visa introduced several new products including Click to Pay, Visa Flexible Credential, and Visa Payment Passkey Service. These innovations, set to be introduced in Saudi Arabia, aim to improve digital payment infrastructure in alignment with the Kingdom's vision to improve the payment ecosystem. Visa's study indicates that 80% of Saudi shoppers used digital features for their most recent purchases, reflecting a growing preference for digital payments.

As consumer expectations evolve, more merchants are seeking solutions to deliver the advanced experiences desired by Saudi consumers. Visa Acceptance Solutions provides businesses with essential connectivity and flexibility that might otherwise require significant technology investments. Solutions such as the Visa Acceptance Platform and Tap to Phone enable businesses to scale and customise their payment systems to meet consumer needs effectively.

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