Visa Checkout Brings Fast and Easy Payments to Hong Kong

HONG KONG, Nov. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa announced today the launch of Visa Checkout in Hong Kong. First launched in July 2014 in the US, Canada and Australia, Visa Checkout is a quick and easy way to pay online, on any device in just a few clicks. Because Visa Checkout stores billing and shipping data, shoppers can check out in seconds on any device.

Consumers in Hong Kong are tech savvy and more connected than ever. Internet penetration stands at 79%[1] and nearly four in five Hongkongers own a smartphone[2]. Ecommerce is on the rise as well, with mobile shoppers making 23% more purchases on the go as compared to 2014 and cross-border purchases increasing by nearly the same amount[3].

"As more and more people across our region turn to their mobile devices to shop, the time has never been better to introduce a streamlined way to pay on similar devices with a brand that consumers already know and trust," said Caroline Ada, country manager, Hong Kong and Macau, Visa. "With Visa Checkout, consumers not only can pay in just a few clicks, they can also enjoy a peace of mind of using one of the most secure online payment services in the world."

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 credit card number and expiry date at every transaction. Online purchases can easily be completed by using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC. Customers never have to leave the merchant's website to complete a purchase.  

For online merchants, Visa Checkout helps provide a quick and easy checkout experience to enhance satisfaction and encourage customers to return to the site for repeat purchases. Visa Checkout drives higher conversion rates, a 66% improvement over traditional checkout.  Moreover, customers using Visa Checkout have higher-than average transactions and complete more transactions overall[4].

Visa Checkout is now accepted at a wide variety of online merchants in Hong Kong, including Broadway Circuit, DimBuy, Hong Kong Airlines, PARKnSHOP and Zuji, providing Hongkongers greater convenience and ease in paying for movie tickets, travel, fashion items and groceries online.

"Going for movie is a popular leisure activity for Hong Kong people. With Visa Checkout, movie lovers, even with a small screen on their smartphones, can organize cinema trips and purchase movie tickets with just a few clicks," said Grace Cheung, General Manager of Broadway Circuit. "We are keen to provide our customers an enhanced and seamless online purchase experience, so they can enjoy convenience and great movies at any time."

PARKnSHOP's, Head of eCommerce, Rex Wong added, "Visa Checkout expedites online payment, and PARKnSHOP has been offering online purchase services since 1998. We're delighted to make Visa Checkout available to our valued customers who deserve a simple way to purchase groceries and daily necessities online. Hong Kong people are extremely busy, so by offering a quick and easy online payment solution, our customers can enjoy everyday shopping on our emarketplace."

In addition, Visa Checkout is available to thousands of online merchants through payment gateway provider CyberSource, a wholly-owned subsidy of Visa Inc., and the leading payment gateway provider in Asia -- AsiaPay.

Visa and our key merchants are pleased to bring these special offers for Visa Checkout users:

*Terms and conditions apply.

Expanding Globally

Since its launch in 2014, more than seven million users have signed up for Visa Checkout accounts. More than 250,000 large and small merchants and 470 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, mainland China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Sign up for Visa Checkout at any time through a participating bank, or merchant checkout page or directly at www.visacheckout.com/hk.

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks -- VisaNet -- that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products.  For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.

[1] Internetlivestats
[2] Consumer Barometer 2015
[3] 2015 Visa eCommerce Consumer Monitor Survey
[4] comScore 2015 Visa Checkout Study, commissioned by Visa. Based on data from the comScore research panel of one million US PC/laptop users, August-December 2014.