FinTech Skyscend Collaborates With Visa to Streamline Payments

Skyscend has joined Visa’s Fintech Fast Track Program.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform provider for supply chain finance said in a Tuesday (Dec. 20) press release that this move will enable it to expand its offerings and provide its customers with faster, more secure and streamlined payments.

“Our participation in the Visa Fintech Fast Track Program enables us to modify several closed-loop systems limited to specific geographies in the B2B and P2P payment space,” Skyscend CEO David Sulfridge said in the release. “With Visa we now have the right partners and resources to provide businesses and consumers with the best digital payment solutions.”

The Visa Fintech Fast Track Program provides FinTech startups with access to Visa’s partner network and experts who can help them get up and running, according to the press release.

For Skyscend, participation in the program enables it to more quickly integrate with Visa and leverage the reach, capabilities and security of the company’s global payment network, the release said.

With this program, Skyscend will automate B2B payments by introducing virtual card payments and thereby reducing the risk and workload involved in transferring funds from the firm’s finance arm, Skyscend Capital, to customers, per the release.

By integrating with Visa, the firm will also be able to use its digital wallet for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, Skyscend Cash, to simplify international payments, according to the press release.

“At Visa, we see our work with FinTechs like Skyscend as one of our greatest opportunities,” Vanessa Colella, senior vice president and global head of innovation and digital partnerships at Visa, said in the release. “By joining Visa’s Fast Track Program, Skyscend can gain unprecedented access to Visa experts, technology and resources to efficiently scale and bring innovative solutions to market.”

In another recent collaboration, card issuance and management platform Highnote said Aug. 30 that it had become fully certified as a Visa issuer processor and would join the Visa Fintech Fast Track Program as an enabler in the U.S. market.

As part of the program, Highnote can use its GraphQL API platform coupled with program management, money movement and issuer processing services to help digital enterprises quickly deploy differentiated card programs, the company said at the time.