Visa unveils AI-powered tools to boost Philippines e-commerce

MANILA, Philippines — Global payments platform Visa is bringing a new wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technologies to the Philippines, aiming to support the country’s fast-growing digital economy with more secure, seamless and intelligent payment experiences.

Visa has announced several innovations under its new “Visa Intelligent Commerce” initiative, which seeks to harness the power of AI to transform everyday transactions in the Philippines and across Asia-Pacific.

“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,” Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro said.

Visa said it has invested over $3 billion globally in AI and data infrastructure in the last decade, helping banks, fintechs, merchants and developers build new digital commerce experiences securely on its network.

Among the new offerings is Visa Pay, which connects participating wallets like Maya in the Philippines to any Visa-accepting merchant, whether local or global. The service supports in-store, online and scan-to-pay transactions.

Visa Pay is set to launch “very soon” in the Philippines, with Maya as its key local partner.

Also being introduced is Visa’s “Digital Identity” suite, including solutions such as passkeys and tap to confirm. These are designed to reduce payment friction and fraud through enhanced user authentication and transaction data.

The company is likewise expanding the reach of its Visa Accept solution, which enables micro-entrepreneurs to receive contactless payments via NFC-enabled smartphones. Though launching first in Vietnam, the service is seen to benefit informal sellers and freelancers across Southeast Asia.

On the consumer front, Visa’s Flex Credential continues to gain traction after its successful rollout in Japan through SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. The product is a next-generation card that lets users switch between debit, credit and rewards. It is now being expanded to serve small businesses, with upcoming launches in Vietnam.

Visa is also extending its work in digital currencies by facilitating stablecoin-backed card payments and settlements, as well as launching a Visa Tokenized Asset Platform to support programmable money, cross-border payments and tokenized asset trading.

Among the six key innovations it showcased, tokenization is already fully live in the Philippines.