(MENAFN- Edelman) At Web Summit 2025 today, Visa Inc. (V) strengthened its long-standing commitment to supporting digital creators as a powerful force in the global economy. Building on its recognition of creators as small businesses, Visa is using the scale of its network to help creators easily and securely pay and get paid, access capital and grow their enterprises with the same tools and resources available to small businesses worldwide, including Visa’s new creator-research, Monetized: Visa 2025 Creator Report.

Monetized is a comprehensive study of the creator economy spanning five regions: the United States, Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Conducted with Morning Consult, the study surveyed TikTok creators and explores both the business challenges and opportunities facing more than 1,000 content creators surveyed from May - August 2025. The findings offer a fresh perspective on how creators are building and sustaining their businesses worldwide.

“Creators are among the most dynamic small business segments not only globally but here in the UAE,” said Salima Gutieva, Visa’s VP and Country Manager for the UAE. “Monetize: Creator Economy Report showcases UAE creators’ ingenuity and guides how Visa is investing to empower the creator economy, providing access to capital, specialized financial tools, and resources that help creators scale their business locally and globally.”

Key Findings – UAE

• The UAE creator economy is becoming increasingly entrepreneurial – about a third have launched new ventures following their content success, and most have clear plans for future growth.
• As creators expand their business activity, many continue to rely on personal funds and cards to finance their work, and over a third (35%) use secondary personal accounts to separate expenses – signaling a need for dedicated business banking tools.
• While 42% receive payments within a week, delays still cause stress and make it harder to manage their business, highlighting the need for faster, more reliable payment options.
• UAE creators show one of the highest levels of financial confidence globally (61%), yet their strong interest in further training points to an opportunity for tailored financial education designed specifically for creators.

Empowering Creators to Efficiently Run their Businesses
In response to the challenges highlighted by creators in Monetized, Visa introduced a new agentic pilot program with Karat Financial , a fintech leader in the creator space, providing credit cards and business banking tailored to creators. Designed to make the business side of creativity easier, this initiative will give creators practical tools to manage their finances and streamline operations.

Rolling out in the US first, the pilot will test and gather regional interest before expanding beyond the US to additional markets and regions in FY27.

Potential tools could include:
• Smarter payments: Agentic automation that could help streamline sending, receiving and tracking payments – with built-in human oversight when needed.
• Automated reminders: Cash flow is kept on track with tools that handle follow-ups for late invoices or brand payments.
• Trusted database: Users could have the option to store and verify buyer and supplier details in one place to save time and help prevent fraud.

Karat brings deep expertise in supporting creators financially: pioneering credit cards that underwrite based on creator revenue and social metrics and launching business banking for creators.

Visa’s Commitment to Creators
Visa sees content creators as a dynamic force fueling communities and commerce globally - a commitment Visa formalized at Web Summit in 2024, where it officially recognized creators as small businesses. The commitment to developing creator-driven tools and the findings of the report strengthen Visa’s dedication to serving this next generation of entrepreneurs with advanced payment technology, educational resources and flexible financial products tailored for creators’ unique needs.

The full Monetized: Visa 2025 Creator Report can be found here: Monetized: Visa 2025 Creator Report. Visa remains committed to supporting the creator community and partnering to drive innovation, growth, and access for creators worldwide.

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