Visa today announced the launch of Visa Checkout, a quick and easy payment service that enables Singaporean consumers to pay for goods online, on any device, in just a few clicks. This new service addresses the frustration experienced by many online shoppers by reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase online.

With internet penetration at 81 per cent and the highest smartphone penetration rate globally (88%) Singaporeans are among the top online shoppers in Southeast Asia. Seventy one per cent of Singaporeans shop online at least once a month, an increase from 59 per cent last year.

However, despite the high rate of browsing online, two in three Singaporean shoppers have abandoned a purchase because it took too much time to complete the payment process or it was too cumbersome to enter their personal details4. The top five categories for abandoned purchases are fashion and accessories, travel, movie tickets, bill payment and fines and groceries.

“As more people start to spend more time and money online, particularly using mobile devices, they are also demanding a fast, secure and frictionless way to shop online. Visa Checkout addresses some of the problems faced by online shoppers by reducing the number of steps required for them to complete their online purchases, thus enhancing the entire shopping experience. The solution can be used on any device and this is crucial since abandoned transactions online are more likely to be on mobile devices (55 per cent),” said Ms. Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei.

Easier Way to Pay

Visa Checkout is a streamlined checkout experience that is intuitive to use and saves shoppers time. Users simply enter a username and password to pay, rather than a 16-digit payment card number and expiry date for every transaction. Online purchases can easily be completed using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC.

Visa Checkout is now accepted at a wide variety of online retailers in Singapore including Golden Village, Spizza, Cold Storage, Guardian, Giant, Aviva and ComGateway. More retailers across a variety of industries, including online travel agency Zuji and supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice, will be coming onboard in the next few months.

“Golden Village is honoured to be the first in Singapore to offer Visa Checkout. Visa Checkout is aligned with GV’s key objectives of offering a speedy, hassle-free transaction, thereby enhancing the movie ticket purchase experience on GV website and iGV app. Initial adoption rates are promising and we expect even more Singaporeans to embrace the service over the coming months,” said Clara Cheo, Chief Executive Officer for Golden Village.

Expanding Globally

Since its launch in 2014, more than 10 million users have signed up for Visa Checkout accounts. More than 250,000 large and small merchants and 600 financial institution partners from around the world offer Visa Checkout. These represent some of the biggest retailers on the internet, including Abercrombie, Orbitz, Shutterfly and Virgin America.

Visa Checkout is available in 16 markets around the world. These include: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

In Singapore, the following banks are currently live for Visa Checkout enrolment include ANZ, Bank of China, Citibank, DBS, ICBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB.