Visa taps into fashion

Financial services corporation Visa recently announced a new relationship with New York Fashion Week (NYFW): The Shows that allows consumers to experience new ways to pay, including tapping to pay with contactless cards and devices, throughout the on-site experience at NYFW this September. This relationship serves as a platform to highlight the speed, convenience and security of contactless payments within an innovative retail environment, the company said.

“We are constantly exploring sponsorship opportunities to help us diversify our brand and reach new audiences, while delivering experiences that drive business priorities,” said Mary Ann Reilly, senior vice president, North America Marketing, Visa. “We are excited to work closely with this property to bring our vision for a contactless payments future to life.”

As the official payment technology partner of NYFW: The Shows, Visa’s on-site activation includes the first ever contactless-enabled retail experience at The Shows, available only to consumers in attendance. This gives Visa an opportunity to showcase contactless payments via on-site retail vending machines.

The contactless-enabled vending machines creates a unique shopping experience featuring items from New York-based female designers, including Rebecca Minkoff, Venessa Arizaga and Neely & Chloe. Visa and NYFW: The Shows are committed to supporting these women thought leaders, laying groundwork for future female entrepreneurs, they affirmed. Each purchase made at a vending machine is ‘buy one, get two’, so every tap is an opportunity to pay it forward to friends who inspire them. And, to take it one-step further, 100% of the purchase price of products sold at the retail experience during NYFW will benefit Women’s World Banking, a non-profit providing low-income women entrepreneurs around the world the financial tools and resources they need to thrive and pursue their dreams.

“Visa’s on-site activation at NYFW: The Shows is a great representation of how fashion is evolving through powerful, female-led brands innovating to reach and connect with consumers,” stated Leslie Russo, executive vice-president, Fashion Partnerships and Marketing at IMG Fashion. “Our partnership with Visa is only the beginning, and we are excited to bring together both our brands’ expertise to shape the future of commerce and fashion.”

NYFW: The Shows and Visa have also teamed up to curate a panel of female leaders from a cross section of industries and backgrounds who are reimagining retail experiences for their own respective brands, from the democratisation of fashion to making collections ‘see now, buy now’ available.

Panellists include Candice Swanepoel, model and founder of swimwear brand Tropic of C; Aurora James, founder and creative director of shoes and handbags retailer Brother Vellies; Jenny Fleiss, co-founder and CEO at text message-based personal shopping service Jetblack; and Heather Philp, SVP Credit Card Products Management, Wells Fargo. The panel is moderated by Mary Ann Reilly, senior vice president, North America Marketing, Visa.

By Muneerah Bee