Visa pushes mobile payments to boost financial inclusion

CEBU, Philippines — Digital payment firm Visa, is stepping up efforts to accelerate the use of mobile payment platforms such as Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in the Philippines, aiming to deepen financial inclusion and expand the country’s fast-growing digital payments sector.

At an enablement workshop, the global payments firm convened regional partners including Google Southeast Asia, Vietcombank and Starbucks Vietnam to share insights on how local banks can integrate and scale mobile wallet services for Filipino consumers.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently clarified that such platforms are considered technology service providers rather than operators of payment systems, meaning they cannot hold funds directly and must be linked to a user’s credit, debit or e-money account.

Once a Visa card is added to a digital wallet, it can be used for contactless transactions in stores, online and in apps.

Each transaction is secured through Visa’s tokenization technology, which replaces sensitive card details with a unique digital token.

The company has issued more than 10 billion tokens globally, with 1.5 million e-commerce merchants using the service daily.

In Asia-Pacific, Visa said its token service delivered a $2bn uplift for merchants in 2023 while cutting fraud rates by 58 per cent.

Digital wallets are already widely adopted across Southeast Asia, with Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand offering tokenized payments through xPays.

In Vietnam, where Google Pay and Samsung Pay launched in 2022 and Apple Pay in 2023, Vietcombank executives said the model has strengthened consumer adoption and issuer growth.

“Digital wallets amplify the power of Visa by delivering secure, seamless and innovative payment experiences for consumers, businesses and our banking partners,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Visa’s country manager for the Philippines.

“Each tap is protected by Visa’s network token technology, ensuring trust and security while advancing the Philippines’ digital payments landscape,” he added.

The rollout of xPays is expected to ease payment frictions for both locals and foreign travelers, who increasingly prefer cashless transactions.

A Visa survey found that 97 per cent of Asia-Pacific travelers carry credit, debit or prepaid cards, while just 17 per cent bring foreign currency.

In the Philippines, however, 44 per cent reported encountering payment acceptance issues.

Digital retail payments now make up 57.4 per cent of total transaction volumes in the country, according to the BSP — surpassing its 2024 target and placing the Philippines on track to reach 70 per cent by 2028.