Visa announced a significant expansion of its support for the global creator economy through the introduction of a new experimental “Creator Agent” pilot program developed in collaboration with fintech partner Karat Financial. The announcement was made during Web Summit 2025 in San Francisco and Lisbon, where Visa unveiled its latest research study, the Monetized: Visa 2025 Creator Report. This initiative reinforces Visa’s ongoing commitment to positioning creators as an influential business segment with growing economic impact across international markets.

The new report provides an extensive examination of the creator economy across five key regions: the United States, Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Conducted in cooperation with Morning Consult, the study surveyed more than 1,000 TikTok creators between May and August 2025, offering a detailed perspective on the operational challenges, financial pressures and emerging opportunities shaping creator-driven businesses. Visa highlights creators as a dynamic segment of small business activity and emphasizes the need for modern financial tools that help them receive payments securely, access capital and scale their work as global entrepreneurs.

Findings from the study reveal a strong sense of resilience within the creator community. The report shows that 88 percent of surveyed creators expect their revenue to grow in the coming year, reflecting rising confidence in the earning potential of digital content creation. Despite this optimism, many creators continue to depend heavily on personal savings, community assistance and crowdfunding, underscoring the need for more customized financial products designed specifically for creator workflows. The study also notes increasing reliance on modern digital payment processors, which support faster access to earnings and cross-border transactions, although payment delays continue to pose difficulties for many. More than half of surveyed creators receive income from outside their home countries, demonstrating the global structure of creator commerce.

Building on these insights, Visa is exploring the development of an agent-supported pilot program with Karat. Karat is known for its specialized financial solutions for creators, including underwriting models based on social metrics and revenue streams, as well as tailored business banking services. The experimental program aims to reduce operational friction for creators by providing smarter tools for managing cash flow, tracking payments and staying on top of financial obligations. Potential features include automated payment handling, intelligent reminders for overdue invoices and an integrated database that securely stores and verifies client and vendor information to reduce administrative time and the risk of fraud.

Visa’s broader commitment to creators was first formalized at Web Summit 2024, when the company officially recognized creators as small businesses within its global strategy. The insights from the 2025 report, combined with the planned pilot program, demonstrate Visa’s intention to empower creators with advanced payment technologies, educational resources and financial products that match the evolving needs of this rapidly expanding sector. The company aims to strengthen the infrastructure that supports millions of creators worldwide, enabling them to build sustainable careers and contribute more effectively to global digital commerce.