VISA will be releasing new features and products for the cards that it supports in the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, to address the digital needs of businesses, merchants, consumers, and financial institutions, it said on Monday.
“Innovation in our industry is vital as payments serve as the fundamental vehicle of commerce enabling economies to thrive… There is a huge opportunity for the payments ecosystem to shape new digital experiences together. It is more critical than ever that we partner and collaborate closely to unlock meaningful value and impact for consumers, merchants and local communities,” Visa Asia Pacific Regional President Stephen Karpin said in a statement.
Visa will be introducing Visa Flexible Credential, which will allow a single card product to toggle between payment methods.
Users will be able to set parameters or choose whether they use debit, credit, “pay-in-four” with buy now, pay later, or pay using rewards points via the same Visa credential.
Visa noted that Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company (SMCC) was the first bank to adopt this solution in the Asia Pacific, known as “Olive” to SMCC’s cardholders.
“The solution is currently available in Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and will be launched in more Asia-Pacific markets later this year,” Visa said.
The company will also be adding new ways to transact using mobile devices this year.
Customers will also be able to verify and authenticate their identity and authorize online payments through biometrics or passwords through Visa Payment Passkey Service. Built on the latest Fast Identity Online standards, Visa passkeys will replace the need for passwords and one-time codes for online shopping.
Visa will likewise eliminate the need to manually enter card information and undergo verification processes on e-commerce platforms through Click to pay.
“The solution enables consumers to complete online transactions within a few clicks by selecting which of their pre-enrolled Visa cards they’d like to pay with,” it said.
Visa added that it will partner with issuers in the region to enable this solution.
The company will also be introducing data tokens, which will allow consumers to control the data they share through artificial intelligence (AI) and tokenization. Merchants will also be able to request consent from customers to give AI-based, real-time, personalized offers with data tokens.
“If the consumer agrees, behind-the-scenes, Visa issues a private data token to the merchant complete with AI-generated insights based on the consumer’s transaction data,” Visa said.
It will also pass the data token to the consumer’s bank, with users able to review where the data has been shared through their mobile banking app and revoke access if needed.
The company said it has issued more than one billion tokens in the Asia-Pacific region as of Monday.
“We are seeing a rapid transformation in the way consumers shop and manage their information in today’s hyper-digitalized era,” Visa Asia Pacific Products and Solutions Head TR Ramachandran said.
“The new solutions that are unveiled today will bring truly digital-native payment experiences right into consumers’ palms, setting the stage where commerce is made much more personalized, convenient and secure,” he added. — AMCS
