- Visa expands its flexible payments feature to the U.S. and UAE, partnering with Affirm and Liv Bank to let users pay from multiple accounts on a single card.
- The Visa flexible payments initiative reflects growing demand for convenience and innovation as fintech collaboration reshape the payment industry.
What happened
Visa has announced the expansion of its flexible payments feature to the United States and United Arab Emirates through fintech collaboration with companies Affirm and UAE’s Liv Bank. Initially launched in Asia, including markets like Hong Kong and Japan, the Visa flexible payments feature allows users to access multiple funding sources through one Visa card.
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With 1.4 million active cardholders, Affirm adds significant reach to this rollout, aligning with Visa’s strategy to keep pace with growing consumer demand for payment flexibility in an increasingly digital marketplace.
Visa’s latest data highlights this trend, showing that 51% of card users favour the ability to access multiple accounts through one credential. Mark Nelsen, Visa’s global head of consumer products, noted the feature’s success in Asia as the driver for expansion into other key markets, including plans for Europe. Meanwhile, Affirm CEO Max Levchin sees this partnership as an opportunity to provide consumers with seamless debit and credit options without hidden fees.
Why this is important
Visa’s flexible credential expansion reflects the larger shift in consumer payment preferences as digital finance and e-commerce continue to reshape the industry. With consumers increasingly valuing convenience and control, financial service providers are under pressure to innovate.
The partnership with Affirm and Liv Bank illustrates a growing trend: collaboration between fintech and traditional financial institutions, where each party benefits from new revenue streams and shared technology.
This move also marks a pivotal step for Visa as it leverages the evolving fintech ecosystem, with industry insiders suggesting it may prompt legacy banks to adopt similar technology.
By addressing consumers’ need for a straightforward, fee-free way to manage funds across multiple accounts, Visa and its partners are positioning themselves as leaders in the payment flexibility trend—offering more than just transaction processing but empowering consumers in their financial decisions.
