Visa Invests In Israeli Startup Behalf

Visa announced Tuesday (August 7) that it has made an investment in and inked a partnership with Behalf, an Israeli startup.

In a press release, Visa said the investment and partnership is aimed at supporting small business growth via easy-to-access capital and financing. Behalf provides working capital solutions for small businesses and flexible financing for business purchases. As part of the deal, Visa will offer Behalf’s small business clients a tokenized Visa Virtual Card, which is a credit-based payment service that gives companies instant financing for business purchases. The card will initially be offered in the U.S., and there are plans to expand into other markets during the next few months.

Visa said the investment and partnership is part of its global strategy to offer products to small businesses via partnerships with FinTechs and startups. It’s also part of the Visa’s previously announced plans to invest as much as $100 million in FinTechs. That initiative was announced during the Money 20/20 conference held in Amsterdam in June.

“Behalf has demonstrated a commitment to expanding the purchasing power of small businesses by using digital payments to offer faster, more convenient and secure experiences,” said David Simon, global head of small business and medium enterprises at Visa. “This partnership is another great example of how Visa partners with FinTech companies to help improve digital experiences and bring new solutions to market in order to overcome common small business challenges.”

Behalf is Visa’s first investment in an Israeli company, and it follows the spring 2018 launch of the Visa Innovation Studio in Tel Aviv.

“The Behalf platform offers affordable, on-demand purchase financing. Our network of B2B merchants can fit Behalf seamlessly into their eCommerce flow, receive payment immediately and provide their business customers with more buying power and flexible payment options at checkout,” said Benjy Feinberg, Behalf’s chief executive officer, in the same press release. “We are proud to partner with Visa with the goal of making purchases easier. I’m excited by the opportunities ahead.”