Visa and TikTok are launching a new “creator card” aimed at fixing one of the biggest pain points in the creator economy: getting paid on time.
The debit card, initially rolling out in the UK, will allow creators to convert TikTok Live gifts into income and access funds more seamlessly through a dedicated business account.
“The partnership is all about getting creators their funds faster, which for a small business is critical to cash flow and money management,” said Ben Danner, Senior Debit Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. “The other upside is to keep business expenses separate from personal expenses, which are often intermingled as creators utilize their personal bank accounts for their TikTok businesses.”
“Visa has increasingly leaned into supporting the growing creator economy in the past few years by providing solutions like Visa Direct and card solutions,” he said.
Prompted By the Phenomenon
The rapid rise of the creator economy phenomenon has pushed leading financial services players to strengthen the payments infrastructure supporting it. For example, PayPal recently launched a feature for Canva’s roughly 265 million users that enables them to design content and accept payments in one place.
Previously, many Canva users had to build separate websites or storefronts to process transactions—often at a significant cost. These payment challenges are widespread. In a study commissioned by Visa, nearly half of surveyed UK content creators said late or inconsistent payments negatively impacted their ability to run their business.
An Appealing Combination
While more financial services firms are working to solve these issues, TikTok is also expanding its financial footprint. In China, its sister platform has launched the Douyin Pay digital wallet to facilitate in-app transactions. TikTok has also applied for licenses in Brazil that would allow it to hold user funds and potentially offering lending services.
Through these efforts, TikTok is positioning itself at the intersection of social media, e-commerce, and fintech. This convergence is particularly compelling younger adults, an increasing number of whom are building businesses within the creator economy.
