MAY, 12, 2021, TORONTO – 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-time[2] 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-time[3], 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 operational[4]. 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-19[5].
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 benefit[6]. In addition, 85% of small business respondents say they would switch to a new merchant acquirer who offered real-time payments[7]. Wave is solving these needs leveraging Visa Direct to offer real-time[8] 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-time[9] funds delivery directly to eligible Visa card holder account credentials. Instant Payouts is available to Wave customers in Canada and in the US.
[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.
