Earlier this year developers from Visa and Oracle teamed up to discuss a strategy to tackle an existing challenge for both businesses.

During the meeting, developers researched and constructed a payment prototype enabling businesses to handle transactions and to pay both suppliers and contractors far quicker.

Fast forward several months and this original prototype has evolved and is expected to be shortly available through Oracle ERP software. Oracle ERP customers will be capable of making Visa direct payments directly from their accounts-payable system with participating banks, reducing the overall time and investment associated with businesses having to implement new card payment technology.

The main question raised by all businesses is exactly how are they getting paid. Bill Sheley, the senior VP and global head of push payments at Visa explains that Visa Direct utilises an expansive network, supporting 54 million merchant locations worldwide, offering a network that enables payments anywhere.

For the recipients of this payment system, the benefits are related directly to faster payments and for businesses, this improved payment efficiency means reduced costs. A survey by the Association of Financial Professionals stated that nearly 90% of businesses highlighted increased efficiency as the main reason for switching to digital payments.

The efficient payment process results in a better experience, improving customer retention and eliminates the lag time associated between the payer and payee when money is being transferred.

Sheley believes that this program will expand further particularly with the rise of people working as contractors or freelancers. Sheley points out that this market has generally found it more difficult to get paid and states it has been more difficult to connect these people to a conventional banking system. Offering a transparent payment service, that is quick and secure is an appealing option for this market, according to Sheley.

Sheley believes that over the years payment innovation will focus on enhancing the payment experience, building upon the current services. Sheley states that there will also likely be an expansion of digital payment services into areas that lack access to traditional banking services. Furthermore, Sheley believes there will be continued development in new transactions excluding traditional plastic cards. Ultimately Visa is focused on simplifying the process and overall speed to market. Sheley highlights that they want smaller businesses to have the opportunity to the same services on offer to the leading companies, providing a simpler and accessible payment service for the future.