Launch of Visa’s “Flexible Credential” for SMBC Bank’s “Olive Flexible Pay”

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company have launched “Flexible Credential”, a new feature for “Olive”, a comprehensive financial service for individual customers. SMBC’s Olive is the first in the world to roll out Visa’s new functionality that allows customers to add other credit cards they have to Olive Flexible Pay. With the launch of this service, up to 5 credit cards can be consolidated into one Olive Flexible Pay card.

Olive Flexible Pay

With Olive Flexible Pay, customers can use a single card or account to switch between “debit card”, “credit card”, and “point payment (prepaid card)” to suit their usage needs by switching functions on the app.

The new “Flexible Credential” allows customers to add up to five additional cards in their name to Olive Flexible Pay. This eliminates the need to carry multiple credit cards, as they can be consolidated into one Olive Flexible Pay card.

In addition, customers who are new to Olive will be able to add their current credit cards (but not Mastercard cards), so they can continue to use their existing cards while enjoying Olive’s services. For example, customers will not need to change the registered card number for online shopping and subscription services. Customers can easily change the payment mode 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from the SMBC app or Vpass app.

On the back end, Visa’s existing acceptance infrastructure makes the Flexible Credential possible, capturing and routing transactions based on a customer’s selected preferences.

One Visa study found that 51% of card users want the power to access multiple accounts and funding sources through a single credential. While that flexible future is here now, it’s not yet everywhere. But it’s coming — and soon. Region by region, issuer by issuer, shoppers and financial institutions will begin to see this capability more and more, with a U.S. pilot coming later in 2024.

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