The growth platform
for Fintech stars.
One program. Three hubs. Borderless access.
The Visa Innovation Program is a fintech pilot-centered collaboration platform designed to help your startup scale, supercharge the value proposition and engage with Visa, its clients and partners.
Core Value Proposition
PoC/Partnership opportunities
Introduction to Visa and Visa’s clients to fast-track, test, validate and implement your solutions within Visa’s vast network of financial institutions and corporate partners.
Personal Concierge
Dedicated support by a prominent design thinking expert throughout the program to guide you and help with all of your business needs and PoC efforts.
Market Access
Access to new client base and business opportunities across Europe plus local support from our three hubs in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
Funding
Connect with some of the leading VC funds in Europe backing fintech startups. The most promising companies could receive an investment offer from Eleven.
Mentorship
Top level industry mentors with diverse expertise and fintech experts from Visa to help you in the most essential aspects of your business.
Powerful Community
Masterclasses, workshops and peer to peer gatherings for practical knowledge exchange with a diverse entrepreneurial network of global fintech industry luminaries and investors.
Showcasing
Large exposure and access to top fintech and payment conferences as part of the Program.
Tech Stack
Startup perks (up to $200,000), essential tools and industry data, Visa’s tech infrastructure and API’s.
Applications are now open until April 15th
The Program in Numbers
Program Partners
The Visa Innovation Program is run by the collective efforts of our local partners in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. They bring their know-how, network, domain expertise and operational resources to make the Program a reality.
Eleven is one of the leading early-stage VC’s in Southeast Europe, investing in startups since 2012. With 150 collective investments over 7 years, Eleven’s team has been instrumental in catalyzing the regional startup ecosystem.

Crowdpolicy provides civictech and fintech enterprise information systems and open innovation services since 2012 in Greece and Cyprus. Over the years, the team has implemented various open innovation initiatives.
Hackquarters is the leading startup accelerator and corporate innovation partner, based in London and Istanbul, combining superb global reach with deep local knowledge.
The Timeline
The new application window for Cohort 5 will open soon, stay tuned!
• Design Thinking sprints
• One-on-One meetings with PoC partners
• Mentoring sessions
Challenges
We are looking for the best and brightest companies to address our challenges. The applicants need to provide proven solutions to drive innovation and technological advancement for Visa and Visa’s clients.
If you believe your company addresses one or more of the challenges, you are welcome to apply and become part of the Visa Innovation family.
Advancing next-gen payments experiences
Can you unleash the potential of new technologies and infrastructures to introduce innovative payment journeys in Personal Finance Management, Wealth Management, and Insurtech, increase operational efficiency with high-quality financial data or make real-time assessments to provide personalised offers? Are you leveraging:
- Blockchain technology (e.g. crypto-currencies, NFTs, smart contracts)
- Open banking / PSD2
- Digital wallets
- Installments, BNPL
Empowering SMEs
Are you targeting to accelerate the growth of SMEs and businesses through digital payments solutions to foster financial inclusion?
Are you focusing on:
- Online/In-store card acceptance and acquiring
- Tap to Phone
- Installments, credit scoring, POS financing, BNPL
- Digital onboarding for financial services

Special project with UBB: Introduce QR codes, payment requests, “pay by link” or other solution that could be embedded in the UBB mobile banking directly, or as stand-alone app.
Unlocking new payment flows
Are you ready to digitize cash intensive B2B, C2B, or B2C payments to create new commerce opportunities, utilizing solutions such as Visa Direct?
- Virtual payments credentials
- Funds disbursements (e.g. GIG economy, refunds, government payments, cross-border payments)
- Finance management platforms for businesses (e.g. payments, accounts, procurement)
Building a smart and sustainable future
Can you help enhance payments technology to contribute to the transition to an eco-friendly economy and to drive inclusiveness, reduce inequality and create positive impact for people, economies and the environment?
Are you working on:
- Urban mobility
- Government payments (e.g. Financial aid, social benefits, bill and tax payments)
- Interconnected services for citizens and tourists
- Financial education
Who Should Apply
If your team has already completed a proof of concept related to the proposed challenges or has a market-ready solution, you are the right fit for the Visa Innovation Program.
01
Stage
Startups and scale ups having a market-tested solution
02
Team
An experienced team with entrepreneurial spirit
03
Solution
A solution addressing one of our Challenges
04
Commitment
Dedication for pilot collaboration with banks and enterprises
Testimonials










Network
Some of Our Mentors
Athina Chatzipetrou
George Panou
Goh Hirose
Marcel Dridje
Mariela Atanassova
Marisa Melliou
Maximilian Schausberger
Nedelcho Spasov
Nicolas Nicola
Professor Markos Zachariadis
Sevdalina Vassileva
Svetozar Georgiev
Yonatan Pinto
Some of Our Partner Banks














