‘Creator economy’ brings in new wave of microbusinesses in APAC

The rise of social media has led to more than an increase and shift of habits, business, and activities only—it has created a kind of microbusiness now prevalent across the globe: the ‘creator economy’ by digital-savvy entrepreneurs.

The ‘creator economy’ consists of individuals or groups who publish content on digital social media platforms, whether it be their part-time or full-time source of income. It can also be a passive income for some, but all the same, it has been driving growth in the digital payment movement over the last five years.

According to research, sales in this sector are predicted to reach US$1.2 trillion by 2025 worldwide.

This is complemented by the freelancing and gig economy, more known as “on-demand” work. A source of income that has seen rapid growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, this kind of work has seen a steady rise mostly in the Philippines and India among Asia Pacific nations.

These microbusinesses have resulted in payment providers offering customized business-to-consumer (B2C) payment solutions to effectively address varying needs.

Compared to traditional payment schemes, providing digital solutions has enabled microbusinesses to receive their earnings real time and with minimal transaction fees.

Influencers monetize their content through partnerships with brands, donations and tips from followers, and interactions within the platforms they operate on, usually amounting to micropayments of less than US$10 per payout.

Seeing this shift, payment providers have remodeled their platforms to enable micro-payouts, with an infrastructure that can process small-value and high-volume payments as individual transactions.

Speed also plays an important role. Content creators expect that monetization services are fast and can be processed through locally-popular payment methods. Alongside this, fees are expected to either be free or at a minimal cost, compared to fixed costs traditionally provided by banking institutions.

Making global all local transactions

The digital economy has led to borders being not an issue for both businesses and customers. This led to payment gateways being accessible anywhere in the globe and moving money becoming possible in an instant.

Visa Direct is tackling these challenges by working closely with the entire ecosystem of banks, fintech, and merchants across the Asia Pacific to come up with viable solutions. It has tapped its extensive network to provide efficient and borderless infrastructure for freelancers and creators. Micro payouts are now possible through innovative payment types, benefitting micro-businesses and consumers alike.

Today, Visa enables individuals and organizations to send money to banks in over 190 countries and territories. It has also facilitated payments into 130 different types of digital wallets in more than 50 markets.

Turning its global perspective with a ‘local’ view, new payment endpoints such as cards and wallets are now highlighted more than before to promote financial inclusion among these new microbusinesses.

To know more about how Visa is supporting the region’s creator and gig economies, visit Visa Direct’s official page.

ADVT.