Visa Subscription Manager helps individuals manage their subscriptions

Global payments leader Visa has announced the arrival of Visa Subscription Manager, a tool designed to help individuals manage their subscriptions. The solution, currently in pilot phase, centralizes recurring expenses to facilitate their management. This initiative accompanies the growth of the subscription market, to prevent Visa cardholders from suffering the neglect associated with the accumulation of subscription contracts.

FACTS

• Visa announced this week the launch of its new Visa Subscription Manager tool.

• This functionality will be offered to financial institutions for use by their Visa cardholders.

• The main purpose of Visa Subscription Manager is to consolidate recurring payments linked to the card. On the dedicated interface, Visa cardholders can :

  • View recurring payments assigned to their card;

  • See where card details are stored;

  • Stop, suspend or restart a recurring payment.

• Recurring payments include, for example, subscriptions to streaming services, delivery services (food, magazines, etc.), gym or club memberships, utility bills, and so on.

• The solution relies in particular on VisaNet when it comes to blocking or authorizing recurring card payments.

• Visa Subscription Manager is developed by Visa's Digital Enablement division, which offers a range of tools to help cardholders manage their finances. The solution is currently being tested in several regions.

CHALLENGES

• Help individuals manage their subscriptions: Visa wants to offer its cardholders a solution that will enable them to move from scattered subscription management in a network of applications to a centralized solution on a single interface. The American company's aim is to make the management experience as seamless as possible for the end-user.

• Keeping pace with a booming market: The subscription market has been growing strongly in recent years, with an estimated market value of $406 billion by 2025. Individuals are multiplying their subscriptions in sectors such as retail and food, increasing the risk of mismanagement. Visa wishes to anticipate this risk by offering its solution, so that its customers can benefit from a clear vision of their recurring expenses.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• In August 2023, American researchers published their work on the subscription economy in the USA. One of the study's key points is that the subscription model favors user neglect, and therefore profits for subscription providers. Forgetfulness is said to account for part of the increase in revenues, ranging from 14% to 200% for some providers. The profitability of some providers even depends on these oversights.

• Visa is not, however, the first to tackle this oversight. Diivii, for example, has been offering a cost-sharing solution for subscriptions since 2022. For its part, BNP Paribas has partnered with Papernest since 2019 to offer an expense management service based on open banking. The start-up can, for example, identify recurring expenses and propose more advantageous alternatives for the customer.