Visa and Wave Deliver Instant Payouts to Canadian Small Business Owners

Wave's Instant Payouts feature integrates Visa Direct, enabling small businesses to access their funds in real-time¹, improving cash flow and money movement

TORONTO, May 10, 2021 /CNW/ - Visa and Wave, an all-in-one accounting and business banking platform used by small businesses, today announced the Canadian launch of Instant Payouts, Wave's cash flow payments solution for small business owners, enabled by Visa Direct, Visa's real-time² push payments platform and made available through Wave's financial institution partner.

Wave's Instant Payouts feature integrates Visa Direct directly into Wave's invoicing and payments platform, offering Canadian customers a new way to access the money they've earned within seconds. Instant Payouts pushes funds directly to a customer's bank account, bypassing any hold periods and changing the way small businesses manage their cash flow. Rather than waiting the typical payment processing times, Wave customers can receive funds in real-time³, 24 hours a day and even on evenings, weekends and holidays. Instant Payouts allow business owners to use the money they've earned immediately to grow their business or pay expenses.

Getting paid quickly is key for small businesses, as they navigate a challenging landscape brought on by the global pandemic. The impacts of the pandemic have taken a toll on Canadian small businesses, with small business owners saying it will be 10 months on average until their business is back to being operational⁴. In addition, 44% of Canadian small business owners say real-time access to cash flow would have an impact on keeping their business afloat in the wake of COVID-19⁵.

The ability to optimize cash flow is critical to the success of small businesses. The majority (79%) of small businesses cite wanting faster settlement and 81% say they would pay to have this benefit⁶. In addition, 85% of small business respondents say they would switch to a new merchant acquirer who offered real-time payments⁷. Wave is solving these needs leveraging Visa Direct to offer real-time⁸ deposits to their customers.

"Cash flow can mean the difference between whether a business survives or languishes, and the ability for small businesses to access funds instantly is all the more important in today's climate," said Les Whiting, Chief Financial Services Officer at Wave and H&R Block. "Tens of thousands of our US customers have experienced the benefits of Instant Payouts over the past year, including real-time deposits and 24/7 access to funds. Introducing this feature to our Canadian customers will make a meaningful impact in helping Canadian small businesses thrive."

"We understand that cash flow management and more immediate access to funds is critical for small businesses to survive and thrive," said Jim Filice, VP and Head of New Payments, Visa Canada. "Together with Wave, we're committed to providing small business owners more convenient ways to manage their back office."

Wave's Instant Payouts feature is backed by the power and ubiquity of Visa's network, which helps enable secure, convenient, real-time⁹ funds delivery directly to eligible Visa card holder account credentials. Instant Payouts is available to Wave customers in Canada and in the US.

For more information about how Visa Direct can help your business, visit Visa.com/VisaDirect.

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^1	Actual fund availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.
^2	Actual fund availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.
^3	Actual fund availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.
^4	Visa Back to Business Study 2020
^5	Visa Back to Business Study 2020
^6	Visa Funds Disbursements Research, Aite Group survey commissioned by Visa of 154 North American SMB businesses, Q4 2017
^7	Visa Funds Disbursements Research, Aite Group survey commissioned by Visa of 154 North American SMB businesses, Q4 2017
^8	Actual fund availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.
^9	Actual fund availability depends on receiving financial institution and region.

About Wave
Wave Financial Inc (waveapps.com) combines powerful financial tools with no-fee business banking designed especially for service-based small businesses. Wave's comprehensive platform includes accounting, invoicing, payroll and payments software solutions, as well bookkeeping services. Wave Money, a no-fee business bank account, provides small business owners with quick access to payments, automates bookkeeping and creates accurate records ready for tax time. Over 400,000 small businesses rely on Wave as their smart money management solution. Wave has won awards for growth, innovation and company culture, including Deloitte Fast 50, Deloitte North American Fast 500, KPMG Fintech 100, CB Insights Fintech 250, Canadian Innovation Awards (Financial Services), Canada's Best Workplaces and many more. Wave is a subsidiary of H&R Block.

About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. Our relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit visa.ca, usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog.html and @VisaCA.

SOURCE Visa Canada

Media Contacts: Marshneill Abraham, Senior Manager, PR & Communications, Wave Financial Inc., [email protected]