Visa technology is helping merchants solve declined payment issues

This change could save small businesses over $1 billion globally over the next five years, in turn benefitting the entire ecosystem of consumers and merchants.

The rule change gives merchants more methods to show if a disputed charge is valid and authorised, helping business owners keep money that is rightfully theirs, while protecting legitimate cardholder activity.

“Visa is committed to facilitating safe and secure transactions, and in response to an increase in first-party fraud, we have made necessitated changes to aspects of our dispute process to give small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the tools that they need to ensure they receive the payments they have rightfully earned through legitimate transactions,” said Dung Dang, Visa’s country manager for Vietnam and Laos.

“While we stand with our small merchant partners in the fight against fraud, Visa also remains steadfast in its dedication to protecting Vietnamese consumers from fraud, including our zero-liability commitment to cardholders for unauthorised transactions,” she added.

According to Nguyen Thanh Tong, business director at Tam S’Life, which operates 16 fitness and yoga centres in Ho Chi Minh City, the impact of first-party fraud can be devastating for small businesses.

“This rule change is going to be a game-changer for my business. I have been in tough situations where legitimate membership charges have been disputed,” said Tong. “If I lose the dispute, not only do I have to refund the membership fee, I also need to pay for other dispute compensations. This change will help ensure I have a fair shot during those disputes.”

Tran Van Trong, general secretary at the Vietnam E-Commerce Association added, “We applaud Visa’s new initiative that empowers Vietnamese businesses, especially SMEs and household businesses, with the tools they need to fight for rightfully earned payments.”

As a fast-growing economy, Vietnam faces growing threats from first-party fraud, which can be particularly devastating to such businesses as they have limited expertise in financial management. “In bolstering its safeguards against fraud, Visa is giving small businesses the opportunity to flourish and secure payment from legitimate transactions,” Trong added.

In November 2023, Visa announced the expansion of the real-time Visa Account Updater (VAU) to selected markets in Asia-Pacific, streamlining the payment experience for merchants and customers by providing cardholders with a single credential for life.

With the introduction of the service in the region, consumers and merchants in the region will have access to real-time VAU across subscription services such as ride-hailing, food delivery and monthly utility payments, among others.

Backed by Visa’s technology, the system helps merchants solve the issue of declined payments from customers with expired or replaced debit and credit cards by allowing businesses to effortlessly update customers’ stored card details in real time. Consumers will no longer face the challenge of having to update numerous automatic payment credentials when their card expires, or when receiving a new card. Cardholders can enjoy a single credential for life to streamline their payment experience.

In Asia-Pacific, Visa is partnering with four global payment gateways and acquirers – Adyen, Checkout.com, Stripe, and Worldpay – to launch VAU in the region.