Line Partner with Visa to Expand Mobile Payment Solution

In a bid to expand its reach, facilitate cross-border payments and offer existing customers more benefits, Line Pay, the digital wallet and fintech solution from the stables of Line Messenger, Japan’s largest messaging app, has announced its partnership with Visa, a global payments processor. The alliance will also enable the integration of digital Visa cards into LINE app, according to a press release on June 6, 2019.

Strategic Partnership

Per a press release by the team, Line Pay is collaborating with Visa to give their global users made up of millions of individuals and merchants, better payment experiences.

Specifically, the team has hinted that the new alliance will enable its 187 million monthly active users across the globe to apply for a digital Visa card from within the Line app, to enable them to make secure and seamless payments even in jurisdictions where the Line Pay platform is not present.

The team also claims that users will be able to add the details of their existing Visa cards to the app as time goes on, while also being able to take advantage of the “integrated loyalty programs” and customized offers as well as new payment capabilities when they travel abroad.

Though the deal will make Line Pay available as a payment option at Visa’s 54 million merchant locations worldwide, Line Pay and Visa have hinted that they plan to further formulate solutions that would make it easier for merchants to interact with Line Pay’s entire product offerings.

Facilitating Cross-Border Payments

As reported by BTCManager in September 2018, Line Corporation joined the crypto and blockchain movement with the launch of Link Token, its native altcoin and Link-Chain, its distributed ledger.

At the time, the firm stated that the primary aim of developing Link token and Link-Chain was to put in place a user-friendly reward system and create highly-functional easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps).

However, with the latest partnership with Visa, Line has said that it’s looking to work with the former to launch new blockchain-based solutions that would facilitate cross-border payments, business-to-business (B2B) transactions as well as “alternative currency transactions,” (probably with Link token).

Commenting on the exciting development, Youngsu Ko, CEO of Line Pay reiterated that:

“As we move to a cashless society, LINE Pay is focused on providing added value to LINE’s users and business partners around the world. With Visa’s global reach and infrastructure, LINE Pay users will be able to enjoy the advantages of Visa’s robust network.”

Ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympics, Line Pay says it will collaborate with Visa to launch exclusive marketing campaigns aimed at boosting Japan’s crypto-friendly and cashless ecosystem.