Visa has introduced a series of new products and partnerships at its Asia Pacific Media Showcase in Singapore, marking a shift toward AI-enabled commerce across the region.
Central to the announcement is Visa Intelligent Commerce, a new initiative that opens the company’s payments network to developers and engineers building AI-powered experiences.
It includes integrated APIs and a commercial partner programme designed to connect AI platforms securely to Visa’s infrastructure.
Visa said it is in discussions with Ant International, Grab, and Tencent to explore AI-driven payment use cases and streamline the checkout experience.
As AI agents increasingly take on tasks like browsing, selecting, and purchasing on behalf of users, Visa is enhancing its infrastructure to support this evolution.
The company, which has processed over 3.3 trillion transactions globally in the past 25 years, said AI integration could allow users to transact using Visa’s 4.8 billion credentials at millions of merchants worldwide.
Visa Expands Payment Capabilities and Partnerships in Region
The payment giant is also expanding its stablecoin capabilities. It is working with DCS Singapore, dtcpay, and StraitsX to launch stablecoin-backed cards, allowing users to buy stablecoins with fiat and spend them at Visa-accepting merchants.
Visa has settled over US$225 million in stablecoin volume to date and is collaborating with StraitsX to enable seven-day-a-week settlement.
Through its Tokenised Asset Platform (VTAP), Visa is supporting the issuance and management of fiat-backed tokens, enabling programmable financing, trading of tokenised assets, and cross-border money movement via both public and private blockchains.
The company plans to expand VTAP availability through 2026.
In Japan, Visa’s Flex Credential—launched with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company—has surpassed five million account holders.
The card lets users switch between debit, credit, and reward points, and now supports toggling between business and personal accounts.
Visa said the Olive card continues to outperform, with cardholder spending 40% above Japan’s national average. Flex Credential is expected to launch in Vietnam soon.
It is rolling out Visa Pay across Asia Pacific to link digital wallets to Visa-accepting merchants, both in-store and online.
Partners include LINE Pay in Taiwan, Maya in the Philippines, OpenRice in Hong Kong, and Woori Card in South Korea.
In digital identity, Visa is deploying solutions such as passkeys, tap-to-confirm, and enhanced transaction data to streamline authentication and reduce fraud.
New regional partners include Coles in Australia and Maybank in Malaysia.
In Vietnam, Visa is launching Visa Accept, a service that allows micro-sellers to receive contactless payments directly to their Visa debit cards using NFC-enabled smartphones through their bank’s mobile app.
