Visa, a global payments technology company, is proud to announce that over 100 merchants are among the first wave of South African online retailers that have joined Visa Checkout. These include Aramex Global Shopper, Discovery, Emirates Airline, TicketPro, WebTickets and YuppieChef.

Shoppers can now enjoy this digital checkout service that allows them to pay with their cards online and on any device that’s connected to the Internet, with just a few clicks.

Enrolling in Visa Checkout is a simple, one-time process, taking only a few minutes. Consumers simply store their shipping and payment information in a secure account with Visa once, and they never have to re-enter it again when shopping online at all merchants globally who offer Visa Checkout.

Online shoppers in South Africa can use any Visa debit or credit card or even other branded cards to shop online at any of the above-mentioned merchants.  The service is a card for the digital world and takes away the frustration that many online shoppers face in having to submit large amounts of information – such as their name, card numbers and billing address - each time they want to make an online purchase.

Geraldine Mitchley, Head of Emerging Products and Innovation for Visa in Sub Saharan Africa, said: “We are proud to introduce Visa Checkout in South Africa. With more than 250 000 global merchants and more than 15 million registered users globally, we believe Visa Checkout will prove to be another success in South Africa. As we partner with a number of forward thinking merchants in market, we hope that more and more merchants, bank card issuers and consumers will see the benefits of this seamless and secure experience while shopping in-app or online.” 

Speaking on behalf of Yuppie Chef, CIO Steve Porter said: "Visa Checkout has helped reduce friction at checkout and has had a significant impact on average basket size. Feedback from our customers has been positive and we are looking forward to continued growth in Visa Checkout as more merchants come online."

In June 2016, Effective Measure in partnership with Visa surveyed over 12 000 Internet users in South Africa on their online shopping habits. The survey revealed that South Africans are browsing more, with 38% of people surveyed accessing the Internet via a mobile phone and 27% of online shoppers using their phones to transact. Visa’s data¹ shows that 45% of consumers purchasing with Visa Checkout have done so from a mobile phone, which is 1.6x higher than the South African consumers surveyed by Effective Measure, and indicates just how easy it can be to shop and pay using your phone.  “Services like Visa Checkout will assist merchants in converting browsers to buyers,” says Mitchley.

A study done in late 2015 in the US found that Visa Checkout helps ensure a browsing customer converts into paying customer, as 86% of customers enrolled with Visa Checkout completed their transactions.  Fifty-one percent are more likely to complete a transaction compared to customers who have to enter card and address information manually in the traditional online checkout path. Also, Visa Checkout allows retailers to tap into the trust consumers have in the Visa brand. More than 96% of Visa Checkout customers said that they felt secure when making a purchase.

For further information and to enrol with Visa Checkout please click here.