MANILA, Philippines — Global payments giant Visa is ramping up efforts to bring mobile payment services such as Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay to the Philippines as it works with banks and technology partners to accelerate the country’s shift to cashless transactions.
In an enablement workshop held recently, Visa gathered regional partners including Google Southeast Asia, Vietcombank and Starbucks Vietnam to share insights and best practices on integrating and scaling so-called “xPays” in the local market.
Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro said digital wallets “amplify the power of Visa by delivering secure, seamless and innovative payment experiences for consumers, businesses and our banking partners.”
“Each tap is protected by Visa’s network token technology, ensuring trust and security while advancing the Philippines’ digital payments landscape,” Navarro said.
He also said the company aims to support the country’s financial inclusion goals by connecting local innovations to Visa’s global network.
Visa highlighted its tokenization technology, which replaces card numbers with unique digital tokens stored securely on a user’s device and used with a dynamic cryptogram for every payment.
The system prevents merchants from accessing the cardholder’s real account details and helps reduce fraud.
Visa said it has issued more than 10 billion tokens worldwide as of 2024, with more than 1.5 million e-commerce merchants using the service daily.
Regional speakers shared their experiences in rolling out xPays.
Vietcombank, Vietnam’s largest commercial lender, said digital wallets have boosted card usage and customer engagement since Google Pay and Samsung Pay launched in Vietnam in 2022 and Apple Pay in 2023.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier clarified that mobile payment providers like Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are considered technology service providers rather than operators of payment systems, which means they do not need prior registration to operate but must be linked to users’ credit, debit or e-money accounts. The wallets cannot hold consumer funds on their own.
The adoption of xPays is expected to broaden digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines, benefiting both locals and foreign travelers who increasingly prefer card and mobile payments over cash. Across Asia Pacific, 97 percent of travelers carry credit, debit or prepaid cards on trips, while only 17 percent bring foreign currency, Visa noted.
The BSP reported that digital retail payments accounted for 57.4 percent of total transaction volume as of 2024, surpassing the government’s target under the Philippine Development Plan and keeping the country on track to hit 70 percent by 2028.