Cover World leader in digital payment technology, Visa, announces new innovations in the Philippines to drive flexibility, security and acceptance
World leader in digital payment technology, Visa, announces new innovations in the Philippines to drive flexibility, security and acceptance
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As AI continues to recalibrate how we live in the world, global leader in digital payment technology Visa unveils a suite of innovative products designed to anticipate the next wave of digital payment experiences in the Philippines
Visa Philippines, during its recent product drop last July 1 at the Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier, reiterated how the Philippines’ digital payment sector is rapidly expanding. In 2023, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that 50 per cent of retail payments have been digitised—a milestone that highlights both the growing adoption and the readiness for future innovation.
As the country enters mid-2025, there is much anticipation for further developments, as well as the increasing power of AI.
“The continuously growing digital payment sector in the Philippines makes it a prime environment for technological innovation—one that harnesses AI for the benefit of the digital Filipino business owner and consumer,” says Visa Philippines’ country manager, Jeffrey Navarro.
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Above Jeffrey Navarro, country manager of Visa Philippines
Jeffrey Navarro, country manager of Visa Philippines
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Of all the many products Visa Philippines launched to its partners, frequent collaborators, stakeholders and members of the press during its launch, Visa Flex Credential, Visa Pay and Visa Accept were identified as priorities for rollout within the year or early next year. The immediacy, as explained by Poojyata Khattar, head of product for regional Southeast Asia at Visa, will depend on the interest of Visa’s business partners and the adeptness of consumers at the grassroots level.
“The Philippines’ digital economy remains vibrant, and Visa’s cutting-edge innovations are key to keeping the country at the forefront of payment technology,” says Khattar. “Imagine the possibilities that AI brings to everyday life for Filipino digital consumers—from automatically ordering your favourite meals on Grab before you even think of it, to alerting you about the next big K-pop concert and arranging all your travel plans. With Visa’s trusted payment infrastructure and advanced AI capabilities, these seamless, secure and enjoyable experiences are now within reach for everyone in the country,” Khattar adds.
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Expanding payments innovation and connectivity for Filipino businesses
Above Poojyata Khattar, head of product for regional Southeast Asia at Visa
Poojyata Khattar, head of product for regional Southeast Asia at Visa
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Visa is launching new services to make it easier for consumers, merchants and businesses in the Philippines to pay and be paid.
Visa Pay is designed to connect any participating wallet to any Visa-accepting merchant, local or international, in-store or online, launching across Asia Pacific, home to the largest number of digital wallet users. Through partnerships with leading players including LINE Pay in Taiwan, Maya in the Philippines, OpenRice in Hong Kong and Woori Card in South Korea, Visa is expanding access to its global network, giving consumers more ways to pay globally by tapping, scanning or online.
The company is also introducing a suite of solutions, such as Passkeys, Tap to Confirm and enhanced data, which are meant to identify and authenticate digital users. These solutions will reduce friction for consumers by being digitally native while improving payment security and authorisation rates with enhanced transaction data and state-of-the-art fraud prevention techniques. New partners in the region include Coles, a supermarket chain in Australia and Maybank, a leading financial services provider in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Lastly, Visa Accept is a new solution that allows micro-sellers to receive payments directly to their eligible Visa debit card using any NFC-enabled smartphone. Launching in Vietnam, the service supports micro-entrepreneurs and informal sellers such as street vendors, freelancers and small service providers. Participating issuers will enable cardholders to accept contactless payments through their bank’s mobile app.
Seamlessness in payments
Above This episode of Visa Spotlight explores agentic commerce and how AI agents are revolutionising the way we discover and purchase products and services. Visa’s expert speakers also discuss Visa Intelligent Commerce, a new programme that enables agents and platforms to deliver seamless and secure shopping experiences.
Visa continues to expand its product portfolio with solutions designed to support the evolving payment needs of consumers and businesses in the country and across Asia Pacific, particularly Millennial and Gen Z consumers who are increasingly looking for flexible and convenient payment options that match their lifestyles.
Its Flex Credential, a next-generation card that allows users to seamlessly toggle between debit, credit and reward points, continues to gain traction in Asia Pacific. Visa first launched Flex in partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company (SMCC), known as Olive, two years ago in Japan. Today, more than 5 million Olive account holders are benefitting from the Visa Flex Credential. The Olive card continues to outperform, with cardholder transactions averaging 40 per cent higher than the national average in Japan over the past year.
Visa and SMCC have expanded the Visa Flex Credential to support small businesses with the flexibility to switch between business and personal accounts using the same Olive card, enhancing access to credit and cash flow management. Visa is also collaborating with local banks in Vietnam to launch Flex Credential in the next few months.
The company has been facilitating cryptocurrency transactions for over five years and is now expanding its offering to include stablecoin-backed cards, settlement and programmable money. On and off-ramps via stablecoin-backed cards allow consumers to use their Visa credentials to buy stablecoins with fiat currency and pay with stablecoin across Visa-accepting merchant locations. In Asia Pacific, Visa is partnering with DCS Singapore, DTC Pay and StraitsX on stablecoin-backed cards that support conversion through regulated infrastructure.
Visa has settled more than $225 million to date in stablecoin volume that has been settled through Visa across participating clients. In Asia Pacific, Visa is working with StraitsX for stablecoin settlement.
Through the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP), Visa provides a platform for our partners to issue and manage fiat-backed tokens, offering interconnectivity to public and private blockchains, enabling programmable financing, trading of tokenised assets and facilitating cross-border money movement. Visa is looking to expand the availability of VTAP to more partners later this year and into 2026.
Above Visa’s brand campaign video for Visa Intelligent Commerce, which enables AI agents to find, shop and buy for consumers—from discovery to post-purchase—delivering a more personal, more secure experience.
At the heart of it all, opening a payment network to build the next generation of AI-powered commerce in Asia Pacific is in line with its Visa Intelligent Commerce initiative. With a suite of integrated APIs and a commercial partner programme for AI platforms, Visa Intelligent Commerce enables developers to deploy Visa’s AI commerce capabilities securely and at scale. This is being explored with Ant International, Grab, and Tencent to grow AI commerce by enabling a secure and seamless checkout experience.
Over the past 25 years, Visa’s global network has handled 3.3 trillion transactions. Today, Visa is advancing its infrastructure, standards, and capabilities to power AI-driven commerce, opening new opportunities for consumers across Asia Pacific. Soon, AI agents integrated into familiar platforms will be able to transact using Visa’s 4.8 billion credentials at millions of merchant locations worldwide.
Visa Intelligent Commerce is still something in development, Khattar clarifies.
“We are excited to work with local banks, acquirers, merchants, and the government in bringing these innovations to the Philippine market. Working with the right partners will help us translate these global innovations into real, tangible impact for local stakeholders—helping us all advance into the future of payments,” says Navarro.
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About
Before assuming the Art and Culture Editor position, Franz has always had a penchant for visual and performing arts. He is passionate about exploring and writing about the local cultural scene and rediscovering the country’s storied past and rich heritage. Besides working on this luxury lifestyle magazine, Franz is an avid book reader, local traveller, museum-goer, chorister, and community theatre playwright.
Work
Franz earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas. He writes about local visual and performing artists and their craft; drinks wines, liquors, and spirits and talks about the creativity of their respective winemakers and master blenders; tries to learn more about business and investments; respects the tradition and artistry that go behind the making of watches and jewellery; and appreciates the genius of architecture and creative design.
As head of Tatler Philippines’ pool of writers, he helps them bring impactful and socially relevant stories to light.
For any leads, you may reach him through @franzsorillaiv on Instagram or franz@tatlerphilippines.com via email.
