Visa Canada Encourages Canadians to Share
Their #MySmallBizReco to Spotlight Small Businesses and
Introduces Range of Tools to Support Them
TORONTO, Aug. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - As the impacts of COVID-19
continue to create challenges for small and medium businesses
(SMBs) across Canada, Visa (NYSE:
V) has released its Back to Business study finding that one-third
(33%) of Canadian small businesses do not consider their local
community supportive of their business during this difficult
time1. In an effort to get local communities back to
business in the wake of the pandemic, Visa Canada is shining a
light on small businesses through its #MySmallBizReco campaign as
well as introducing new programs and solutions to enable SMBs to
drive efficiency and sales through acceptance of digital payments
and expanding businesses online.
"The Canadian economy will not bounce back until small
businesses bounce back," said Stacey
Madge, country manager and president, Visa Canada. "Small
businesses are the heart of local communities, and they have shown
tremendous resilience since the onset of COVID-19. While the road
ahead remains uncertain, today we are focused on building simple
and effective tools that support digital enablement to help small
business owners not only survive, but also thrive."
In good times and challenging ones alike, small businesses power
the Canadian economy. They account for more than half of global
employment and are among the most affected by the
pandemic2. While (77%) of Canadian SMBs are
optimistic about the future, their top two concerns following the
COVID-19 pandemic are not having the same revenue as before
COVID-19 (52%) and attracting new customers (38%)3. Yet,
in the face of this optimism, Canadian SMBs estimate it will be an
average of 10 months before their business is back to being fully
operational, the longest of all countries surveyed4.
As part of Visa Canada's ongoing commitment to championing SMBs
across Canada, #MySmallBizReco is
a national initiative encouraging consumers to recommend the places
they love to shop, whether it's in their local communities or a
"hidden gem" they discovered online. A diverse group of influencers
and celebrities will encourage consumers to support and recommend
their favourite small businesses across Canada. According to Visa's research, the top
three reasons for Canadians to shop local are to support the local
economy (59%), proximity/convenience (48%), and better customer
service (26%)5.
As part of ongoing efforts to support SMBs, Visa Canada is
focused on four key areas to promote digital commerce and support
economic growth, with plans to continue to evolve product and
service offering as the needs of Canadian entrepreneurs continue to
change. These areas include:
- Promoting local merchants: The Visa Back to Business
Project is an online tool that helps consumers identify
businesses that are open in the wake of the pandemic or any other
occurrence that could result in store closures.
- Empowering digital-first businesses: The newly launched
Visa Small Business Hub offers localized and centralized
online access to information on how to start, run and grow a
digital-first small business. The Hub offers solutions and guidance
around building a website, selling online, accepting payments, and
promoting businesses online. Visa has also teamed up with Shopify,
Wix, and WordPress.com as well as Visa's own small business
payments platform Authorize.Net, to provide deals, and educational
resources on financing, expenses, building an ecommerce website and
more.
- Supporting business growth with marketing: As a Google
Partner, Kliken is offering Visa cardholders a credit towards
Google Ads valued at up to $150
for advertising on Google6. Business owners who are
looking to quickly and easily reach customers online and drive
sales revenue can benefit from this offer, allowing businesses to
get in front of customers during the search process.
- Encouraging digital payments: Major shifts in consumer
behaviour have occurred, including the overarching need for a
touchless experience at the point-of-sale.
Since COVID-19 began, more than two-thirds of Canadians
(76%)7 have slowed down or completely stopped their cash
usage when making payments. The majority of Canadians also think
using a contactless payment method is among the most important
safety measure for stores to follow (54%)8 and two in
five (40%)9 Canadian consumers would not shop at a store
that only offers payment methods that require contact with a
cashier or shared devices. Deploying contactless payment technology
is critical to enabling faster, more secure commerce. Visa is
working with a range of partners to increase the number of
locations where consumers can tap their contactless card or mobile
phone. This follows Visa Canada's contactless tap limit increase
from $100 to $250.
Visa is committed to helping SMBs bounce back. As a company that
enables digital payments at more than 61 million merchant locations
around the world, Visa's priority is to help small businesses
thrive. Today's announcement follows a global commitment from the
Visa Foundation to provide $210
million in COVID-19 relief funding to address the
longer-term needs of small and micro businesses over the next five
years by digitally enabling 50 million businesses to power
recovery in communities worldwide.
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.
_____________________
|
1
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
2
|
Impact of COVID-19 on
Small and Medium Businesses, April 2020 (SMB Group)
|
3
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
4
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
5
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
6
|
Kliken is solely
responsible for this offer and will deliver it through their
digital advertising platform
|
7
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
8
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
9
|
Visa Back to Business
Study
|
SOURCE Visa Canada