VISA International (Asia Pacific) eyes to tie up with two to three banks in the Philippines this year to increase the number of Filipinos who can use their debit cards abroad.
VISA Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Iain Jamieson, in a briefing Wednesday, said they are currently in partnership with six banks in the country.
The VISA-affiliated local banks to date are Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO), HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank), Veterans Bank, and Standard and Chartered Bank.
“We want to tie-up with two to three card issuers within this year,†he said.
Jamieson explained that the advantage of having a local bank carry the VISA brand is that cardholders of these banks can use their debit cards worldwide.
He said debit cards issued in the country that does not carry the VISA logo are not recognized by merchants outside the Philippines.
Thus, the additional partnership means Filipinos who are clients of domestic banks affiliated with VISA can use their debit cards abroad just like a credit card.
“A plus factor here is not only they can use it abroad but without the extra fees for interest payments that use of credit card entails,†he said.
Jamieson explained that most people do not know that they can use their debit cards to pay what they bought from a certain store without first withdrawing from automated teller machines.
He said some 20 million Filipinos are debit card holders but only five million of these have cards that are linked internationally.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=36492.0
