The billions of potential creators supercharging the next frontier of commerce

It used to be hard to be a seller. An entrepreneur had an amazing idea to plug a gap in the market, but what’s next? Both the selling part and the getting paid part represented a big hassle – harder than it needed to be. And that’s before individuals had to overcome low confidence, lack of digital skills and time constraints, all of which were found to be the main barriers to starting a side hustle or online business for European consumers in Visa’s recent ‘Future is Here’ research¹.

But things are changing, driven by the unprecedented pace of innovation in the digital payments world. The friction is disappearing quickly from both the selling and the getting paid part of being an online business – especially the latter as payments are usually wired into the platforms that make selling or publishing more seamless. This abundance of platforms is making it easier than ever to get up and running as a creator, a seller of goods, an advisor or whatever it may be.

Back in 2020, the creator economy had grown into a base of more than 50 million artists, musicians and creators who were publishing content full or part time². With the ever-increasing popularity and proliferation of social platforms, it represents a significant economic impact on global GDP, as this new generational wave of micro-businesses and entrepreneurs come to fruition.

In fact, in a preview from upcoming Next Gen research³, exploring the next generation of mostly younger SMB owners and financial decision makers, Visa found that content creators⁴ were the second most popular industry (13% market share) amongst younger small business owners and decision makers, showing the growing prevalence of the sector. The study also found that these younger SMB owners and decision makers were more open to trying new financial tools, innovations and services to grow their business, such as virtual cards, open banking, tap to phone payments and biometrics. They had a larger proportion of their business coming from international sales, demonstrating the importance of seamless cross-border transactions, and over 20% owned multiple businesses, placing a greater emphasis on simple and secure payments solutions.

New tools of the trade
AI could play a key role in both promoting and protecting these creators. The consumer research showed that 39% of European consumers would consider running a business online if AI could help set it up. And 71% of people who sold items online said they’d trust AI to scale their business.

A third ‘UK B2B’ study⁵ by Visa of UK Business Decision Makers (in more established SMBs and enterprises) found similar positive sentiment towards AI, but also the wider benefits of digitisation and the harnessing of ‘newer’ platforms. A huge 82% said digital payments solutions offered clear benefits to their business, while 67% said their sales have increased on TikTok over the past year.

But creators still face many of the same challenges as established SMBs, from quick access to working capital to macroeconomic variations, to fighting fraud and increased competition. Speed and innovation remain crucial at all levels, in fact the ‘UK B2B’ study found 74% agreed if they didn’t keep up with the latest payment trends they’ll be left behind.

Upgrading to Business Class
So, the journey to establishing and building a profitable presence online for a creator is becoming clearer. But what is Visa doing to empower and support these creators? At the Web Summit in Lisbon, Visa announced it is officially recognising creators as small businesses, meaning creators can easily and securely pay and be paid with Visa’s financial tools, resources and products made available to small businesses worldwide.

Visa is also helping creators get paid fast, with Visa Direct partnering with social media networks and marketplaces to help creators get payouts in real-time⁶ to their eligible debit card. From Visa Business credit and debit cards, business reporting, payment controls and digital payment management platforms to financial education and business skills training, including Practical Business Skills globally – Visa is innovating to support the growing small business community.

This change could have huge implications for driving economic growth. In the years ahead it could - alongside the power of digital identity and the widescale availability of real time account to account payments - enable not 100s of millions of sellers to accept digital payments but potentially billions of sellers. Anyone with a bank account will be able to accept payments with zero up-front friction… no additional merchant account, no acquirer on boarding and no payment terminals.

Creating a level playing field
The news will make life much easier for aspiring and established businesses, as it’ll be easier than ever to access the digital economy. But it’s a two-way deal. Companies like Visa can provide the tools, but this new, young wave of creators needs to not just lean into, but fully harness the power of digital. For example, embedded payments means there’s no break between the experience and the payments option. Embedded finance is now extremely prevalent in our lives, with many casual social media journeys ending up with a purchase, which in turn is leading to new flexible services. The responsible use of data is central to providing these more personalised user experiences and optimising the performance of the service.

Europe’s GDP is driven by SMBs⁷ and the potential economic impact of this new wave of creators exciting but unknown. Much like debit card usage for everyday spend paved the way for a broad adoption of cards for a wide variety of purchases – which in turn is leading to new flexible credential services – small seller payment acceptance will define a new standard for consumer payments around the world.

Visa is at the forefront of driving new innovations to encourage, enable and empower these creators, such as tap to phone technology. All part of the evolving payments ecosystem that is making it easier and more valuable for creators to accept Visa payments.

Case studies, comparisons, statistics, research and recommendations are provided “AS IS” and intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. Visa Inc. neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the information within this document, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such information. The Information contained herein is not intended as investment or legal advice, and readers are encouraged to seek the advice of a competent professional where such advice is required.