Visa Launches Business Locator Tool And E-commerce Support Packages For New Zealand Small Businesses

Visa, the global payments network, has today launched Where You Shop Matters, an initiative that encourages New Zealanders to locate and support local businesses, and provides e-commerce support packages to help small businesses adapt to the new retail environment.

Marty Kerr, Visa’s Country Manager for New Zealand and South Pacific, says recent consumer demand for convenient and secure online commerce is prompting more small New Zealand businesses to digitise, and Visa is committed to equipping them to effectively adapt, at speed and scale.

“We want to use the power of Visa's network to empower the commerce ecosystem, and Where You Shop Matters will do this, connecting shoppers with merchants across New Zealand as these small businesses navigate immense change,” says Mr Kerr.

“While e-commerce presents new revenue avenues for merchants, it can be a new territory for many businesses who might not have an online presence, or who need to enhance their current online offering – so we’re pleased to offer Visa’s support to help make this digital process easier for SMEs.”

Visa launches Business Locator Tool

With consumers eager to support local businesses that face new commerce challenges, Visa is leveraging its global payments network to connect shoppers with ‘open and operating’ businesses.

“Visa first used our network in this way in 2017 following Hurricane Harvey in the US, as a platform for consumers to locate and support small businesses. We’ve now adapted it to be purposeful in the current environment and to support New Zealand’s small business sector getting back on its feet,” says Mr Kerr.

Visa’s Business Locator tool is the largest, transaction-based directory of New Zealand businesses currently operating. A hyper-local interactive map-based web tool that enables users to view businesses that are open and trading in their area, based on whether the merchant has processed a Visa transaction in the past 24 hours. Updated daily, the tool can be filtered by merchant location and category.

New Zealand is one of only a few markets currently able to access this Visa tool, which can be found at www.visa.co.nz/whereyoushopmatters

Visa launches advertising support and e-commerce packages for small businesses

Visa is providing eligible businesses with a range of e-commerce support packages to help get more Kiwi merchants trading online to aid their business recovery plans.

Small businesses moving online can take advantage of a free three-month Shopify website subscription and starter kit to help create an online store and accept digital payments, valued at around $1,245 NZD.

Businesses can also apply for a $500 NZD ad booster programme to enhance their social media presence and reach more customers online, with several more e-commerce offers from a range of platform partners coming soon.

Mr Kerr says that by opening up e-commerce platforms, businesses expand their customer base not only domestically but to millions of Visa cardholders internationally.

“Many merchants new to e-commerce find that they quickly expand their customer base beyond a typical five kilometre local radius to sell to the rest of New Zealand and even the rest of the global marketplace.”

Visa’s Where You Shop Matters first launched in the United Kingdom in 2018 to support British high street merchants, followed by Australia in 2019 to support rural and regional businesses affected by prolonged drought and devastating bushfires. The initiative encourages consumers to think about the positive impact where they shop can have on local communities.

Earlier this year, the Visa Foundation also announced it would commit $210 million globally to support small and micro businesses, and provide immediate COVID-19 emergency relief.

To find out more, small businesses can go to www.visa.co.nz/whereyoushopmatters

© Scoop Media