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Kiwi innovation dominates Visa's Everywhere Initiative
Fri, 23rd Sep 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Visa recently deployed its Everywhere Initiative in New Zealand and Australia, with the aim to get start-ups using Visa APIs to bring new ideas to payments.

Having held competitions in the U.S. and China, this was a first for Visa in ANZ. The initiative saw start-ups pitch bots, tattoos and augmented reality among the innovations.

Marty Kerr, country manager for Visa in New Zealand and South Pacific, says visa believes innovation can come from anywhere.

“We are thrilled there is a strong representation of New Zealand finalists with top quality ideas, such as making it easier for people to manage their money and pay bills to developing new ways for consumers with disabilities to make payments.

At the competition event in Sydney last night, a number of Kiwi start-ups took home awards.

Jude the bot was one of the category winners, a creation that helps consumers better manage their money. Fellow New Zealand group Rush Digital also took home a prize, the start-up creates experiences that transcend virtual technology into the real world.

The overall winner on the night was also a Kiwi group; Thought-Wired took home AUD$50,000 and the chance to pilot their winning idea with Visa.

Thought-Wired is behind nous, a thought-controlled communication solution for people who can't move or talk because of profound disabilities.

 “I'd like to congratulate all the Kiwi winners and finalists of The Everywhere Initiative, and thank all those who entered. Once again the New Zealand developer and start up community has punched well above its weight in terms of leading in innovation,” says Kerr.

“We're delighted to support some of New Zealand's most innovative companies to succeed with concepts which embrace the future of payments.