Visa is encouraging developers, entrepreneurs and startups across New Zealand and Australia to step forward and apply for the 'Everywhere Initiative' to help pave the way for the future of payment technology.

The initiative aims to use Visa APIs to develop new payment ideas and solve business challenges. Successful winners can score up to AU$70,000 as well as the opportunity to run a pilot with Visa's help.

Participants can choose from three challenges:

• Everywhere API Consumer Challenge: How can startups use Visa API to improve the experience or solve a problem faced by consumers when they make or receive payments?
• Everywhere API Commercial Challenge: How can Visa APIs be used to address a problem experienced by businesses when they make or receive payments?
• Everyone, Everywhere Challenge: How can startups develop a solution that makes payments frictionless for consumers with disabilities, expanding access to Visa's payments to everyone, everywhere?

“The Everywhere Initiative is designed to accelerate Visa's vision of co-creating the future of payments. It's one of many initiatives, including our API platform Visa Developer, to drive the next generation of commerce for consumers. APIs are the connective tissue that enables new payment experiences. We are excited to see what Australia and New Zealand's start-up communities will create during this competition,” said Stephen Karpin, group country manager for Visa in Australia, New Zealand - South Pacific.

It is the first time the Everywhere Initiative has run in both countries, after previously being limited to China and the USA. The company is excited about the potential, teaming up with New Zealand's business accelerator The Icehouse and Australian co-working space provider Tank Stream Labs.

"We saw incredible ideas come from the United States and China during our previous competitions. We are continuing to work with some of those winners and finalists today. Australia and New Zealand are both leading countries for payment innovation, so I'm looking forward to seeing the start-up responses to the three challenge questions. Ultimately this is about working together to move the dial in payment and marketing innovation for issuers, merchants, consumers and Visa," says Shiv Singh, senior vice president global head of digital and marketing transformation at Visa's US headquarters.

Entries close on August 31. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a public pitch event in Sydney on September 22. Find out more and enter the challenge at vi.sa/TEI.