I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Visa and PayInit are launching a shared infrastructure to enable Swiss banks to offer international peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. Built on Visa Direct and Visa+, the platform allows banks to integrate cross-border transfers via API without developing individual connections. This solution simplifies transfers using identifiers like phone numbers, complements existing domestic systems, and helps institutions efficiently expand international payment capabilities while retaining client relationships.
The new platform will allow Swiss card-issuing banks to offer cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) payments without having to develop and maintain their own individual connections to international payment networks.
PayInit will provide the shared infrastructure layer. Banks can integrate the services into their existing systems and client channels via an application programming interface (API) or plug-in. The technical implementation is being supported by technology provider Opentech.
Money to Cards, Accounts and Wallets
At the heart of the offering is Visa Direct. The payment infrastructure enables funds to be sent to more than 18 billion cards, accounts and digital wallets worldwide. In addition to money transfers, the network supports services such as payouts and bill payments.
Visa+ is designed to make transfers even simpler. Instead of card or account details, users can send and receive money using identifiers such as a mobile phone number or email address.
For Swiss banks, one of the main advantages is that each institution does not have to build and operate its own technical infrastructure for such services. At the same time, banks retain the client relationship, as transfers can be embedded in their existing digital channels.
Complementing Swiss Payment Solutions
PayInit was founded by Viseca Payment Services and Cornèr Bank and is aimed at Swiss card issuers. Rather than replacing existing domestic payment solutions, the platform is intended to complement them, particularly when it comes to international P2P transfers.
«More than half of people in Switzerland already use P2P payments to send money to friends and family,» said Santosh Ritter, Visa's Country Manager for Switzerland and Liechtenstein. However, there is still considerable scope for improvement in cross-border transfers.
The shared infrastructure should enable financial institutions to launch such services more efficiently while retaining control of their client relationships, according to Michael Walther, CFO of Viseca and Chairman of PayInit.
Alessandro Seralvo, CEO of Cornèrcard and a PayInit board member, also sees international connectivity as a key benefit. The solution allows money to be transferred across borders regardless of whether recipients use payment cards, wallets or bank accounts.
PayInit describes the platform as an open industry solution. It is designed to give Swiss card issuers consistent and scalable access to international P2P payment capabilities, regardless of the underlying payment network.