ZA Bank to Enable ‘Visa Click to Pay’ in Several Asia-Pacific Markets

Hong Kong-based digital bank ZA Bank has become the first card-issuing bank to enable Visa Click to Pay in Hong Kong and will do the same in 11 more Asia-Pacific markets in the future.

Click to Pay enables cardholders to complete online transactions in seconds, without having to manually enter their card information, Visa said in a Monday (May 26) press release.

In the Asia-Pacific region, major acquirers, including AsiaPay, and merchants have geared up to offer Visa Click to Pay, according to the release.

“ECommerce in Asia Pacific has been accelerated by mobile phone ownership, digital advancements and connectivity in Asia Pacific,” T.R. Ramachandran, head of products and solutions, Asia Pacific at Visa, said in the release. “Our partnership with ZA Bank is a great example of Visa’s ongoing industry collaboration to bring innovative payment solutions that benefit the consumer, merchant and issuer.”

With Visa Click to Pay, the data needed for online shopping is securely stored with Visa, so cardholders don’t have to store their information on third-party sites, according to the release.

Because it is a card-level feature that comes ready with Visa cards, Click to Pay requires no additional setup and no signups with third-party eCommerce or merchant sites, the release said. Consumers need only their registered email, phone number or Visa Payment Passkey to check out online.

For merchants, Visa Click to Pay improves business by reducing friction and the cart abandonment that friction can cause, per the release.

“Visa will continue to uplift the consumer retail and online experience while bringing greater commercial success and more innovations to our bank and merchant partners across the region,” Ramachandran said in the release.

Visa reported in July that the focus on simpler, secure checkout experience is gaining momentum. The company’s integration of its Click to Pay and Visa Payment Passkey service enables customers to authenticate themselves using biometrics.

“Already, we have hundreds of issuers enabled for passkeys in Europe and a number of issuers who represent more than 50% of our commerce payments volume in Europe piloting the solution,” Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said during a July earnings call.

When Worldpay and Visa announced the launch of Click to Pay for online merchants in the U.K. in March, Worldpay said it has found that 83% of online shoppers expect a one-click checkout experience.