Visa, a global leader in digital payments, is working with partners across the financial sector to accelerate the adoption of mobile payment providers—or “xPays” such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay—in the Philippines.

In a recent enablement workshop, Visa collaborated with Google Southeast Asia, Vietcombank, and Starbucks Vietnam to share insights and best practices on how local banks can integrate, launch, and scale xPays in the market.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently stated that xPays are classified as technology service providers, not operators of payment systems (OPS). This means they cannot hold funds and must be linked to users’ credit, debit, or e-money accounts.

Once a Visa card is added to a wallet like Google Pay, consumers can tap and pay in stores, apps, or online—every transaction secured by Visa’s global network.

At the core of xPays is tokenization, where a card number is replaced with a unique digital token. This ensures the cardholder’s actual account details are never exposed, significantly reducing fraud risks.

Visa has issued more than 10 billion tokens globally, with over 1.5 million merchants transacting daily. In Asia Pacific, Visa’s Token Service helped deliver a US$2 billion uplift for merchants in 2023, while fraud rates dropped by 58%.

Industry leaders including Google Payments APAC’s TG Ramakrishnan and Vietcombank’s Nguyen Hong Thanh shared how xPays drive customer trust and growth in markets like Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia.

With Filipinos and foreign travelers alike looking for smoother cashless experiences, the arrival of xPays is set to make payments easier and more inclusive. Data shows 97% of Asia Pacific travelers prefer carrying cards on trips, while only 17% bring foreign cash. In the Philippines, nearly half of travelers (44%) still encounter issues such as merchants not accepting digital payments.

According to the latest BSP data, digital retail payments now account for 57.4% of total transaction volume in the country, exceeding the 2024 target under the Philippine Development Plan and on track to meet the 70% target by 2028.