Visa aims to introduce its Visa Pay tap‑to‑pay service in the Philippines by year-end, allowing Filipino consumers to tap their NFC‑enabled phones for payments on any Visa‑accepting POS terminal.
During a briefing, Visa Philippines head of products Ezer Escolar confirmed that Visa Pay will launch first in partnership with fintech player Maya, enabling seamless integration across digital wallets and merchants. Country Manager Jeffrey Navarro emphasized that rollout timing depends on partner readiness, with discussions underway with additional players.
Visa will also introduce Visa Accept, enabling micro‑sellers to receive payments directly via NFC‑enabled smartphones into their Visa debit cards. Another highlight is Flex Credential, a next‑gen card that lets users switch between debit, credit, and reward points—and support for stablecoin‑backed cards and programmable money is planned.
This push is part of Visa’s Visa Intelligent Commerce initiative, leveraging AI to enhance digital payments and e‑commerce in the Philippines. The BSP reports that PESONet and InstaPay transaction values from January to April reached ₱7.15 trillion—up from ₱5.22 trillion during the same period last year.
I am still waiting for Google Wallet & Apple Pay to register and operate here in the Philippines; after their talks with the BSP last December 2024 no more news about it.