Viva Wallet is a Greek online bank and payment provider with offices in the UK that offers a range of cutting-edge solutions for businesses of all sizes. The company’s services include card acceptance solutions, payment terminals, supplementary Google Play peripherals, and various payment gateways specifically designed for e-commerce businesses.
One of Viva Wallet’s most popular payment solutions is the tap-to-pay function.
This article will help you understand what Viva Wallet is all about and what to expect from its tap-to-pay payment feature.
Let’s start with a brief introduction to Viva Wallet’s general features.
Sections
What Is Viva Wallet?
Viva Wallet is an online-based digital banking company that offers a vast range of financial services designed to cater to businesses of all sizes and individual merchants. Their payment services are known for their flexibility, accessibility, and modern approach to banking.
Here’s a list of the payment solutions provided by the company and their main tools and features.
Viva Wallet Payment Solutions
Viva Wallet offers both in-person and digital payment services tailored to suit the unique wants and needs of businesses that provide hospitality, entertainment, and retail services.
In-Person Solutions
Companies can create a merchant account to order a card payment reader and Viva Wallet’s debit card, where they will receive all their payments processed from the device.
Viva Wallet sells two types of payment devices:
- Mini Card Reader: This payment device is a sleek and portable solution for small businesses and solo merchants. It accepts most major credit and debit cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and Diners Club.
- Ciontek CS50C: More robust than the Mini Card Reader, the Ciontek CS50C comes equipped with pre-installed Google Mobile Services (GMS). This Android solution accepts several payment types, including debit and credit cards, digital wallets (Google, Samsung, and Apple), and chip & pin payments.
Digital Solutions
In addition to the card readers, Viva Wallet offers digital payment options, such as Smart Checkout, virtual terminals, and the Tap to Pay feature for Android and iPhone devices.
Smart Checkout
This solution was created specifically for eCommerce businesses, and it can be optimised and installed on any type of hardware, such as smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, tablets, etc. Smart Checkout processes payments in approximately 30 seconds.
Viva Wallet regularly maintains the gateway, which complies with the highest safety regulations. Customers’ data is encrypted and immediately deleted after the transaction is successfully processed.
Virtual Terminal
Viva Wallet’s virtual payment terminal, known as web POS, is a digital point-of-sale system that enables businesses to process remote payments through most major debit, credit, or prepaid cards.
The terminal works with a cloud-based online system that offers the capabilities of a traditional card acceptance terminal but doesn’t require the customer’s physical presence at your location. Access to the Virtual Terminal is limited to specific account types. You’ll need to reach out to Viva Wallet’s Customer Support Team and ask if your business is eligible to use it.
Viva Wallet Features
Some of the key features of Viva Wallet’s services include:
Multiple card acceptance: Viva Wallet provides businesses of all sizes with user-friendly solutions for accepting card payments. They accept cards like Visa, Mastercard, Diners, AMEX, etc., from all major UK-based and international banks. The company sells various payment terminals and offers several digital payment methods through the mobile app, including tap-to-pay.
Multiple business accounts: Businesses can take advantage of Viva Wallet’s business accounts, which come with locally assigned IBANs, streamlining transactions, and financial management integration.
Mastercard: Viva Wallet produces its own Mastercard for all business users. With this card, their clients can have 24/7 access to their bank account and keep a close eye on their finances.
Cloud-based neobank: As a fully digital, web-based neobank, Viva Wallet uses Microsoft Azure to offer efficient and user-friendly banking services. Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service for managing applications through Microsoft-managed data centres.
The service provides various tools and features for computing, analytics, storage, and networking. With Viva Wallet and Microsoft Azure, businesses can develop brand-new applications or run existing third-party add-ons.
Affiliation to Visa and Mastercard: Viva Wallet’s status as a Principal Member of Visa and Mastercard ensures reliable and secure handling of payment transactions, providing peace of mind for both businesses and individuals.
Tap to Pay: With Viva Wallet’s mobile app, businesses can use the tap-to-pay payment method and quickly process transactions through an Android or iPhone. All they have to do is download Viva Wallet’s mobile app on their phone. Let’s explain this feature in more detail.
Viva Wallet: Payment Processing With Tap To Pay
Viva Wallet’s Tap to Pay is one of the fastest payment methods that significantly simplifies the consumer payment process. The tap-to-pay feature allows businesses to process payments straight from their smartphone in just a few seconds.
The company’s modern tap-to-pay technology is used via a mobile app with a user-friendly interface. It’s pretty straightforward, so employees will learn how to use it in no time.
To use it, customers must tap their card or digital wallet on an employee’s Android or iPhone device, and the payment will be processed almost instantly.
The tap-to-pay feature is ideal for businesses that provide services in some of the following industries:
- Hospitality businesses (hotels, BnBs, bakeries, breweries, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, clubs, etc.)
- Retail (clothing, accessories, specialised shops, etc.)
- Beauty and cosmetics
- Entertainment (theatres, concert venues, festivals, conferences, etc.)
With Viva Wallet’s tap-to-pay function, businesses can accept 38 types of payment, which include the following:
- Credit and debit cards from all major banks (Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, American Express, Diners, JCB etc.)
- Digital wallets, such as Apple and Android
- Local types of payments (Klarna, Allpay, Trustly, etc.)
- Payments via unique QR codes
Viva Wallet Tap-to-Pay Features
Swift and secure payouts: With Viva Wallet’s tap-to-pay feature, businesses will receive earnings from each transaction within 60 minutes if the payment is successful. Without competition, Viva Wallet provides the fastest payment processing compared to its competitors.
Reliable offline payments: Even though the feature is cloud-based, businesses will always stay in touch with payments, transactions, and sales revenue when there’s no Wi-Fi or 3G/4G internet connection. The tap-to-pay feature can save data even when the payment device goes offline, but only if the customer is using American Express, Mastercard, or Visa credit or debit card.
Low transaction fees: The transaction fees vary depending on the country where the card has been issued but are pretty low compared to other companies that offer similar services. For example, the transaction rates are fixed at 1.69% for UK-issued debit and credit cards.
Easy tipping options: The tap-to-pay feature allows customers to leave tips via their digital wallet and credit or debit card. This function makes tipping much more accessible and straightforward for both employees and customers.
Flexible device access: The mobile app is free of charge and can be easily downloaded onto the staff’s mobile devices (Android or iPhone) at no extra cost.
Effortless batch management: With tap-to-pay, business managers can effortlessly track shifts and work schedules 24/7 by accessing the Batches feature. This feature also gives them access to all transactions and generates detailed daily, weekly, or monthly reports, giving them a comprehensive overview of the business’s performance, products, sales revenue, etc.
PCI compliant: Viva Wallet’s software is compliant with the first level of PCI DSS. Therefore, customer and payment transaction data is fully secured from malware and fraud. Since the company is licensed by both MasterCard and Visa, they have to follow specific regulations and principles issued by both these companies, which create an extra layer of protection. Additionally, Viva Wallet has annual audits by qualified PCI experts, as well as MasterCard and Visa representatives.
Tokenisation security: There’s another layer of protection known as tokenisation, which is a procedure that keeps all sensitive information and data safe from third-party malware. Tokenisation keeps the PAN number of a card safe since it replaces its original number briefly during the transaction process.
AI algorithm for fraud recognition: Viva Wallet is known for using an AI algorithm that helps discover fraud and recognises whenever an individual is trying to use a card in a fraudulent manner. According to Viva Wallet, with the usage of the AI algorithm, they have managed to reduce fraud by approximately 70%.
In parallel, their conversion rates have increased by about 35%. The results from the AI algorithm fraud recognition process are fully transparent and shown to Viva Wallet’s clients. Therefore, businesses will always know why a payment transaction was declined or blocked.
Biometric protection: Anyone who wants to add an extra protection measure for sensitive data can add biometric protection by Microsoft. This layer of protection allows businesses to keep their data safe and secure since it asks employees to use face IDs.
How to Use Viva Wallet’s Tap to Pay
Using Viva Wallet’s tap-to-pay feature is pretty simple and straightforward. Here are the steps you need to take to use it:
- Download Viva Wallet’s Terminal mobile app version from its official website.
- Make an account and log in with your credentials.
- Enter a specific sum that the customer needs to pay.
- Once the sum is entered, the customer can tap their mobile device if they’re using a digital wallet to pay or tap their debit or credit card. You can also scan a QR code with the app.
- If the transaction is successful, you’ll receive the sum straight to your Viva Wallet’s Mastercard.
Viva Wallet Mobile App
With Viva Wallet’s Terminal version of the mobile app, businesses can accept multiple payment types and use the tap-to-pay function on their Android or iPhone devices. The app has numerous features and can be used to enter users’ bank accounts and manage their finances for free.
Both businesses and individuals can use the app; all they need is an already-existing bank account that can be synced with it.
The app supports various third-party integrations made available by Viva Wallet’s partners, such as:
- WooCommerce
- PrestaShop
- Zone Soft
- WiziShop
- Payreference
- KMO Shops
- Simpra
- Justorder
- DataBlue
- StoneWave
- Spotlight POS
- Octobox
- Unitice
- Aline
- Digi Air Menu
The app is free for download on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
Prices and Costs
Here’s a list of Viva Wallet’s approximate hardware prices, fees, and payment transaction rates converted from EUR to GB pound.
Hardware Prices
- Mini payment reader for credit and debit cards: £42
- Ciontek CS50C: £8.60 monthly
- Ciontek CS30PRO: £8
- Silicon-based protective case for card payment readers: £8
- Silicon-based protective case for Android payment devices: £11
- D2000 device for payment terminal recharging: £28
- Card payment terminal with 5 stations: £128
- Portable charger for card payment terminal: £50
- Stand for card payment terminal: £33
- S900 payment terminal battery: £33
- D200 payment terminal battery (Wireless or GPRS): £33
- D200 payment terminal battery (Wireless): £25
- S900 payment terminal charger for vehicles: £33
- A920 silicon-based protective case: £25
- Pole stand for payment terminals: Customised price
- Ethernet-based pole stand for Android payment terminals: £68
- S900 payment terminal base for charging: £50
- A920 payment terminal base for charging: £68
- Base for charging (Android): £47
Transaction rates
The rate per transaction for Mastercard, Visa, Diners, Discover, and Maestro varies depending on the country where the card has been issued. The scheme rate is fixed at 1.69%, and the acquiring rate is 1.16% for cards issued in the UK.
There’s also an interchange rate that’s issued by the bank of the cardholder. This rate is not fixed but is at least 0.2% for all European debit cards.
The company charges a payment and processing method rate anytime a customer transacts via their mobile app or payment terminals.
The following services are free of charge for all Viva Wallet users:
- Cancellation
- Refund
- Payment reader/terminal setup
- Clearance of workday sale rates
- Refunds for Klarna
Viva Wallet Debit Card
The Viva Wallet card is free of charge. However, it costs £4.99 for a basic activation, which takes a few hours, and £14.99 for a fast activation, which will take just a few minutes. Here’s how much money you can withdraw from your Viva Wallet debit card:
- £400 daily
- £10.000 monthly
- £20.000 in a one-year timeframe (per rolling)
Company Summary
Viva Wallet is one of the leading modern and innovative European online banks that use Microsoft Azure, which makes banking more straightforward and accessible. The company has offices in 24 European countries, including the UK and Ireland, and its main office is located in Athens, Greece.
What sets Viva Wallet apart is that they’re a top member of Visa and Mastercard, giving them a leading position in handling payments and banking services.
The company sells payment terminals, Google Play hardware devices, and online payment gateways designed for e-commerce.
As part of the Viva Wallet Holdings family, they oversee VIVABANK SA, a Greek bank and an E-money Institution that follows PSD II Directive rules. These subsidiaries can operate across the whole EEA Region.
Haris Karonis is the founder and CEO, Makis Antypas is the co-founder, and Maria Kollia is the Group CIO.
If you’re in the UK and want to reach out in person, here’s Viva Wallet’s main office location:
West Wing, Ashton House, Silbury Boulevard, MK9 2AH Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Customer service can also be reached via phone at +442037347770. You can also email them if you have further inquiries at support@vivawallet.com.
Viva Wallet Reviews
Viva Wallet has 1080 reviews on Trustpilot and a median score of 4.1 out of 5.0 stars.
Most reviewers commented positively and mentioned the company’s excellent swift card payment options and professional customer support.
The company received 172 reviews on Glassdoor from various individuals who have worked there, with an average score of 3.4 out of 5.0 stars.
Additionally, Viva Wallet’s mobile app has over 9000 reviews on Google Play with an average of 3.3 out of 5.0 stars, and approximately 5600 reviews with a very high rating of 4.8 out of 5.0 stars on Apple’s App Store.