Visa is strengthening its support for digital creators as a driving force in the Australian economy, unveiling new research and partnerships that show how creativity is increasingly becoming commerce.
Unveiled today at Web Summit Lisbon, Monetised: Visa 2025 Creator Report explores how creators are building sustainable businesses across five regions — including Australia — and reveals opportunities to better support them with modern financial tools.
The research, conducted with TikTok and Morning Consult, found that:
- 88% of creators globally expect their business revenue to grow in the next year.
- Nearly all (94%) report strong encouragement from friends and family, underscoring how content creation is becoming a mainstream career choice.
- 85% are full- or part-time creators earning up to $100K annually — showing creators are small-business operators in their own right.
- 62% use personal bank accounts to manage their business income, and 30% said faster access to funds would benefit their operations.
The research also found that creators are increasingly operating on a global scale, with 52% receiving payments from outside their home country – highlighting the need for seamless cross-border payment tools.
To help address these challenges, Visa has announced a new creator agent pilot program with Karat Financial, a fintech that provides business banking and credit cards tailored to creators. The initiative will use AI-powered “agentic” tools to automate payments, manage cash flow and reduce friction in how creators pay and get paid.
Ben Adams, Head of Visa Commercial and Government Solutions in Oceania, said, “Creators represent one of the fastest-growing small business segments in Australia. We’re proud to see Australian talent featured in Visa’s global launch and to help ensure creators have the same access to secure, fast and flexible financial tools as any other entrepreneur.”
Meble Tin (pictured), Visa’s Head of Marketing for Oceania, added, “The creator economy is reshaping how Australians earn, spend and grow businesses. From Sydney to Seoul, creators are turning ideas into income, and Visa is helping make that possible by simplifying payments and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
The creator agent pilot is expected to roll out in the United States in 2026, aiming to prove product–market fit by addressing common creator pain points before expanding to additional markets, including Australia, in FY2027.
