Visa has expanded its ‘Tap to Add Card’ feature in Ukraine, Georgia and South Africa, enabling cardholders to add their contactless Visa cards to digital wallets by simply tapping their cards on NFC-enabled mobile devices.
Visa expands ‘Tap to Add Card’ feature
The rollout, originally launched at the annual Visa Payments Forum in San Francisco in 2024, represents a significant step in streamlining digital payments while enhancing security and convenience for users in these regions.
Manually entering card details to add a payment method to a digital wallet has long been a tedious process, prone to errors and security vulnerabilities.
Visa’s ‘Tap to Add Card’ feature eliminates this friction by allowing users to add their cards instantly with an NFC-enabled smartphone.
The process generates a unique, one-time code validated by Visa’s Chip Authenticate service, ensuring secure provisioning of credentials.
“With Tap to Add Card, Visa is offering an experience similar to in-store payments, reducing errors and fraud while enhancing convenience,” Visa explained in its announcement.
The solution is expected to encourage wider adoption of digital wallets, further accelerating the shift towards contactless and mobile payments.
Security at the Forefront
Visa highlights the security benefits of this feature, noting that reducing manual data entry lowers the risk of fraud and unauthorised transactions.
The Chip Authenticate service plays a crucial role by ensuring that each tap-to-add transaction is securely validated before being added to a wallet.
The expansion of ‘Tap to Add Card’ aligns with Visa’s broader mission to enhance the security of digital payments worldwide.
In Ukraine, Visa Country Manager Tetiana Chorna emphasised that greater security and simplicity will give consumers peace of mind, fostering greater trust in digital payments.
Diana Kiguradze, Visa’s Regional Manager in the Caucasus, echoed this sentiment, stating that the feature is a game-changer for digital wallets by providing an added layer of security for cardholders in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Visa South Africa’s Country Head, Lineshree Moodley, noted that digital payments have surged in South Africa, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, and this innovation will help drive financial inclusion and improve the contactless payment experience.
Benefits for Banks and Digital Wallet Providers
Beyond consumer convenience, Visa’s ‘Tap to Add Card’ presents tangible benefits for issuers (banks) and digital wallet providers.
For banks, the technology helps reduce provisioning fraud and operational costs, while improving transaction approval rates.
For digital wallets, it enhances security, reduces card entry errors and increases the likelihood of token provisioning, ultimately leading to a smoother user experience.
The introduction of ‘Tap to Add Card’ is expected to further accelerate digital payment adoption in these markets.
Visa has reported strong traction for the feature since its initial launch in September last year, and its expansion into Ukraine, Georgia and South Africa reflects growing global demand for secure and seamless digital wallet integration.
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