Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, announced on last Monday (19 November) that Carousell, one of the largest and fastest-growing web-based classified marketplaces in Asia Pacific, has become the first merchant partner to incorporate Visa’s Sensory Branding technology on its payment platform.
A research conducted by Visa indicated that 76 per cent of Singaporeans feel confident about shopping and paying online if there are visual cues to indicate that their online purchase is successful.
The suite of sensory branding elements, including proprietary Visa sound, animation and haptic (vibration) cues, effectively enhances the customer experience and confidence by confirming a successful payment on CarouPay.
Carousell worked with Visa to launch CarouPay in June 2018 to improve their consumers’ payment experience when transacting on the marketplace. The sensory branding technology is enabled in its mobile app, and buyers can experience Visa’s sensory branding cues every time they pay with their Visa cards. Sellers will also receive confirmation through the sensory branding when they receive funds into their Visa Debit cards via Visa Direct.
“Given the growing popularity of eCommerce, it is extremely crucial to ensure that we continuously enhance the consumer experience. A research we conducted recently showed that 65 percent of online shoppers feel insecure at times when they make a purchase online because they are unsure if their purchases are confirmed,” Kunal Chatterjee, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei, said.
“Based on the research, we see a positive shift in confidence level if respondents receive a sound or animation cue to indicate that their online payments are successful. Also, over half of them (51 percent) want to opt for sensory cues for online payments if this service was available. We believe Visa’s sensory branding technology helps address the key concerns of consumers when they shop online and will be extremely beneficial to the online merchant community.”
Visa’s survey also shows that 90 percent of respondents are confident about making online payments when a Visa logo is visible on the online merchant website.
Jia Jih Chai, Senior Vice President, Business Division, Carousell, said, “Carousell is committed to making it easier to buy and sell online, and offering CarouPay as a payment option is a step in that direction. The reassurance of secure and completed transactions is a crucial component when buying and selling. Visa’s sensory branding together with CarouPay’s escrow service, helps strengthen consumer confidence. We are excited to partner Visa to bring its sensory branding technology to our users.”
Visa’s sensory branding is available as a software development kit (SDK) on the Visa Developer Platform, and through the Visa Ready programme for deeper integration requirements. Concurrently, Visa is developing programmes with point-of-sale (POS) hardware vendors.
