Visa, Open Debut Credit Card For India SMBs

Visa and its India FinTech partner, Open, are rolling out their joint credit card product for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The Economic Times of India reported Monday (Nov. 11) that Open, which operates a small business banking and financial services platform, announced the Founder’s Card, the result of its existing partnership with Visa. The card is designed to integrate services, including expense and recurring payment management for SMB users, as well as a rewards program.

“[SMBs] and startups are growing at a tremendous pace in Southeast Asia,” said Open CEO Anish Achuthan. “It is the need of the hour for businesses that depend a lot on online tools that accept only credit cards. This partnership is a boost for Open as we look to expand our customer base to other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, United States and the Middle East in the coming months.”

According to reports, Open currently services more than 200,000 SMBs in India and has processed more than $6.5 billion worth of transactions. The FinTech raised $30 million in Series B funding earlier this year in a round led by Tiger Global.

The company first announced its partnership with Visa in July, when the two companies pointed to services like real-time payments and business credit cards as key focuses for their collaborative efforts.

In a statement at the time, Visa group country manager of India and South Asia, T.R. Ramachandran, said, “We believe partnership and collaboration are key to creating new and innovative payment solutions for the thriving Indian [SMB] community.”

SMBs are increasingly becoming a focal point for India’s government, which is looking to boost the economy with a working group within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The organization released a report earlier this year about the role SMBs would play in propelling the country toward a $5 trillion economy.