Visa-UnionPay Link-Up: A Turning Point in Cross-Border Money Flow?

Visa Inc. V is ramping up its efforts in global money movement through a partnership with UnionPay International (“UPI”). This collaboration aimed at expanding the reach of Visa Direct in the Chinese Mainland. By linking Visa Direct with UPI’s MoneyExpress platform, clients will be able to send cross-border remittances and business-to-consumer payouts to more than 95% of UnionPay International debit cardholders in the region through a single integration, significantly lowering friction for global senders.

This strategic move bolsters Visa's transition from a card-centric revenue stream to an infrastructure-driven model for money movement. As global labor and digital platforms grow, cross-border payments are becoming structurally significant, particularly for freelancers, creators and businesses. China’s scale makes it a critical corridor and access point, and this breadth meaningfully expands Visa Direct’s addressable transaction volume.

For V, the partnership complements its international expansion strategy. Rather than competing with domestic rails, the company is embedding into an incumbent network with regulatory familiarity and distribution scale. This reduces execution risk while allowing Visa to monetize flows through value-added services like real-time settlement, transparency and reliability — areas where global platforms increasingly differentiate on experience rather than price alone.

Looking ahead to an expected first-half 2026 rollout, the partnership could represent a step-change in Visa’s money movement strategy. As cross-border payments increasingly compete on reach and consistency, exposure to large, high-volume corridors such as the Chinese Mainland enhances Visa Direct’s relevance within evolving real-time payout networks.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of V’s competitors in the payments space include Mastercard Incorporated MA and American Express Company AXP.

Mastercard is expanding cross-border reach by enhancing its Move platform and forging partnerships with digital wallets and corporate payment providers. Mastercard’s payment network net revenues increased 12% year over year in 2025, along with 15% growth on a local currency basis in cross-border volumes.

American Express is focusing its cross-border strategy on global business payments and integrated corporate solutions. Through investments in digital platforms and partnerships, it emphasizes simplified international payouts for enterprises, reinforcing its premium client ecosystem. American Express reported 7% year-over-year growth in its network volumes in 2025.

Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Over the past year, shares of Visa have declined 5.9% compared with the industry’s 18.2% fall.

From a valuation standpoint, V trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, above the industry average of 19.62. V carries a Value Score of D.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2026 earnings implies an 11.8% jump from the year-ago period.

Visa stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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