Visa (V) Partners With Uber: A Better Ride On The Way?

Visa Inc (NYSE:V) recently joined forces with Uber Technologies Inc. to enable customers to enjoy discounted ride and avail benefits from other merchants tied up with Uber, simply by transacting with Visa credit card.

Uber Local Offers is powered by the Visa Commerce Network, which was launched by the insurer in Jan 2016. The network was introduced to provide merchants with a way to create new customer experiences to grow sales and build loyalty. The Visa Commerce Network helps to connect transactions between two merchants registered on Visa’s payment network. These offers drive value for merchants by providing consumer incentives to transact with Visa merchants in exchange for content or services offered by a publisher. This creates a network of consumers, merchants and publishers that add value to each other by using the platform of the Visa network to connect and transact.

Uber already has a vivid and robust network of local merchants. The partnership with Visa has further facilitated the company to broaden, engage and retain its customer base. Bar-B-Que, Mixt Greens, Peet’s Coffee, PizzaRev and many more merchants are already part of Uber’s Local Offer List. A recent survey revealed that Uber customers who Visa cards have spent more than $144 billion per year in physical stores with $2 billion spent in local businesses. The Local Offers option has been incorporated into the Uber application so that riders can find easily the fine-tuned list of places to visit for shopping, dining and other entertainments as well as avail free rides.

Visa has already grown much with the recent evolution of global payment industry from paper to electronic medium. The recent partnership with PayPal in order to significantly improve transaction experience for customers and increase spending volume on their credit and debit cards is worth a mention. Likewise, Visa expects to grow further by growing retail loyalty and prompting greater usage of its card though its partnership with Uber. The Local Offer platform is not only expected to strengthen Visa’s the customer base, but also improve its relation with the merchants, thereby providing it with a better exposure.

Visa presently carries Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)

VISA INC-A Price

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Stocks That Warrant a look

Some better-ranked stocks from the finance sector include Wex Inc. (NYSE:WEX) , Agro Group International Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) and Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG (NYSE:AWH) . All of these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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