Visa introduces digital swipe for Checkout service to enable quicker transactions

Visa has launched a new feature for its online payment service, where users can authenticate a transaction by swiping an image of the card on the system. This service is best applicable for small screen devices like smartphones.

"Visa Checkout's new interactive button is yet another way we are designing the future of online checkout and delivering on our promise to bring the simplicity of the swipe to any device," said Sam Shrauger, senior vice president of digital solutions at Visa, in a press statement.

Using the "digital swipe" feature, Visa customers can complete an online payment by sliding the virtual image of the credit/debit/prepaid card with a button. During the transaction, an image of the card will appear on the screen of the device with a Visa Checkout button. The customer needs to swipe the image and feed the password or the pin code in the button to authenticate the transaction.

The California-based financial services firm is working with merchants across segments to enable the digital swipe feature in their online payment for buying music, movies and airline tickets. "Visa will extend the interactive button functionality to Visa Checkout merchants who ship goods in the coming months," he added.

Visa conducted a pilot run of the solution before launching it for commercial use and found that the customers that had enrolled with Visa Checkout used the interactive button were twice as likely to "click-through" for the transaction.

"This design-led innovation is proven to increase conversion, helping merchants reach new customers — especially millennials, who are increasingly using their mobile devices to make purchases," said Shrauger.

Visa had introduced Visa Checkout Lightbox in 2014, a service that enables online traction from within the mobile app. According to the firm, more than 11 million consumer accounts are connected to Visa Checkout.