December 19th, 2023, Beirut, Lebanon. Visa Inc., a world leader in digital payments and TECH5, an innovator in the field of biometrics and digital identity management, have signed a strategic collaboration agreement focusing on the development and enhancement of digital government ecosystems on a global scale.
The two organizations will design a roadmap that encompasses a series of initiatives and projects aimed at establishing a robust foundation for advancing digital payments, digital identity management, and other ecosystem-driven services.
The partnership agreement includes:
- Designing and implementing improved digital government ecosystems in selected countries.
- Developing and supporting the Go-to-Market roadmap for a SuperApp and enabling Visa card credentials for citizens and non-residents through multiple digital channels.
- Developing a roadmap to expand card acceptance for government disbursements and payment programs across all platforms.
- Initiating programs for financial literacy and digital inclusion.
- Cooperating in the preparation of regulatory acts for digital payments development.
“We are thrilled to embark on this strategic collaboration with TECH5. Our joint efforts will concentrate on enhancing digital government ecosystems worldwide, with a special focus on advancing digital payments and digital identity management services. We are committed to digital and financial inclusion, and we believe that this partnership will allow to implement digital ID-based payment infrastructure and services on a national level, thereby unlocking significant market potential”, said Shahebaz Khan, Senior Vice President, Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, Visa CEMEA.
The technology components and identity wallet infrastructure that TECH5 offers globally include biometric SDKs and software platforms for contactless biometric capture and matching, digital ID issuance and management. They can be readily deployed for integration with Visa payment services and other value-added components that underpin the implementation of digital public infrastructure and e-commerce marketplaces.
“We are looking forward to this strategic collaboration with Visa, learning from their invaluable expertise and market knowledge, and jointly developing the next-generation digital identity solutions powered by SSI-based Digital Identity Wallets, with a specific focus on government payment digitization. The TECH5 team is delighted to bring to this partnership deep understanding and implementation expertise of Foundational ID projects at a national level, as well as technology components and infrastructure that support biometric matching, digital ID and identity wallet solutions for frictionless and secure payments, “comments Machiel van der Harst, TECH5’s Co-founder and CEO.
The development of combined Visa and TECH5 offerings unlocks great market potential, allowing for implementation of digital ID-based payment infrastructure and services on a national level as well as in economic zones where services can be implemented cross-border.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating more than 215 billion payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.
About TECH5®
TECH5 Group is an international technology company founded by experts from the biometrics industry, which focuses on developing disruptive biometric and digital ID technology offerings through the application of AI and Machine Learning. A combination of sustained investment and single-minded dedication to the development of biometric modalities that capitalize on AI has resulted in TECH5’s algorithms being consistently ranked in the top tier of NIST ranking for face, fingerprint, and iris recognition. TECH5 target markets include both Government and Private sectors with products powering Civil ID, Digital ID, as well as authentication solutions that deliver identity assurance for various use cases.