Visa Inc. announced the launch of Visa Commerce Network, a new way for merchants to create online and in-app commerce experiences to acquire new customers, drive loyalty and increase sales with relevant offers. Visa Commerce Network is built on the electronic payment network, VisaNet, and can be easily utilized by merchants through a variety of simple, commerce application programming interfaces (APIs). Visa Commerce Network works by connecting transactions between two merchants.

For example, a hotel can provide its customers with offers from local restaurants using Visa Commerce Network, and with cardholder consent, track engagement and even issue rewards. Qualifying purchases are recognized at the point of sale and rewards can be seamlessly applied to cardholder accounts - eliminating the need for coupons or redemption schemes. Visa Commerce Network offers: Ease of use: Visa Commerce Network eliminates the need for coupons at the point-of-sale (POS) because promotions are seamlessly executed through card statement credits or rewards at time of service.

Consumers can receive and redeem offers after accepting offers online from participating partners simply by using their Visa cards directly or via a mobile device. All tracking of promotions are managed by Visa and seamless to the merchant. Extensive Analytics: Merchants receive aggregated, near real-time reporting on their programs with the ability to see how offers and promotions are impacting local spend throughout the campaign lifecycle.

Scale: Running on Visa's global payment network, which handles more than 100 billion transactions annually, Visa Commerce Network can scale to accommodate merchant offers of any size, without the need for new processes or staff training. Visa is looking forward to working with merchants, issuers and cardholders to add value to all parties with the Visa Commerce Network.