Visa Singapore: Powering payments, driving innovation

Visa’s 2024 annual report opens with a powerful message: it all began with a simple yet revolutionary idea – to connect buyers and sellers through seamless, secure digital payments and uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.

Since establishing operations in Singapore in the 1980s, Visa has brought that vision to life and taken it even further. From daily essentials like buying groceries and meals to taking public transport and enabling tourists to pay like locals, Visa has made digital payments a natural part of our everyday life.

Fast forward to 2025, Visa continues to redefine the way individuals and businesses transact in today’s digital-first economy by enabling payments to be made faster, more secure and smarter.

But Visa’s journey doesn’t stop here.

Visa is committed to future-proofing payments by driving innovation. As part of its long-term vision, Visa is investing in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and inclusive financial tools. To explore its journey in Singapore and what lies ahead, we posed 10 questions to Adeline Kim, Visa’s Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei.

As Singapore celebrates 60 years, what does this milestone mean to Visa Singapore?

Singapore at 60 is more than a national milestone – it’s a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come together. I see our role here not just as a payments company, but as a long-term partner in progress.

Over the decades, we’ve supported Singapore’s digital ambitions from helping to lay early payment infrastructure to accelerating contactless and QR adoption. But what excites me most is how future-ready Singapore continues to be.

Looking back, what were some of the pivotal moments?

Singapore has always held a special place in Visa’s global journey. While our formal presence here spans more than two decades, our connection goes back to the early 1980s, when Visa established our Asia Pacific operations centre in Singapore. That decision reflected our belief in Singapore’s long-term potential as a global financial hub, and it’s a belief that continues to hold true today.

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working alongside partners across the public and private sectors to shape the future of payments. In 2006, we launched one of the first multifunction cards in Singapore – a step toward more integrated, everyday commerce. By 2014, we saw strong momentum in contactless payments, and partnered with NTUC FairPrice and McDonald’s to make Visa payWave, now known as contactless payments, be a part of Singaporeans’ daily lives.

A major turning point came in 2019 with the launch of SimplyGo, where commuters could tap their Visa card to ride public transport. That initiative wasn’t just about convenience – it reflected how digital payments could simplify and enhance daily routines. More importantly, it supports urban mobility and promotes the government’s broader objectives to make Singapore a more digital nation.

Visa has played a key role in driving contactless payment adoption in Singapore. What were the initial challenges and how did Visa overcome them?

Every payment shift, even one as seamless as tap-to-pay, starts with a mindset change. In the early days of contactless, one of our biggest challenges was building confidence: for consumers to feel comfortable tapping instead of inserting a card, and for merchants to trust the speed and security of the transaction.

Education played a big role. We spent a lot of time working with banks, merchants, and industry partners to demonstrate that contactless wasn’t just faster, but reliable, secure, and better for business. Today, Singapore has one of the highest penetration of contactless transactions in Asia Pacific, at over 99%!

Another challenge was building everyday relevance. We knew that to change behaviour, we had to meet people where they already were – in supermarkets, fast food outlets, and on public transport. They helped bring contactless payments into daily routines in a very tangible way.

Singapore is one of Visa’s four global innovation centres. What kind of solutions are being tested here, and how do they scale globally?

The Singapore Innovation Centre has always been a space for turning ideas into action – and with its recent transformation, it’s now even more focused on helping partners across Asia Pacific build what’s next in commerce.

What makes this facility unique isn’t just the technology – it’s the way we collaborate. We bring together banks, fintechs, retailers and startups to co-create solutions that solve real payment challenges, often ahead of market demand.

We had programmes such as Visa Everywhere Initiative and Visa Accelerator programme, which were designed to foster collaboration and co-creation with the startups community.

What’s developed here is shaped by the needs of the region, but it doesn’t stop here. Because Singapore sits at the intersection of global and local innovation, the ideas we test often scale outward, influencing how payments evolve in other fast-growing markets as well.

Visa is also at the forefront of developing the future of payments. Tell us more about Visa Pay?

Visa Pay is an innovative solution designed to enhance the interoperability and convenience of digital payments. It allows consumers to use their local digital wallets and account-to-account (A2A) payment apps to make payments at Visa-accepting merchants worldwide.

Visa Pay delivers a seamless cross-border payment experience, making it easier for consumers to transact globally. When we talk about helping travellers pay like locals, we’re talking about removing friction and replacing it with familiarity, flexibility, and control. Whether it’s shopping, dining, or moving across borders, travellers want payment experiences that feel as seamless as what they’re used to at home.

Visa recently launched a card that allows users to toggle between credit and debit. What’s the value of this for consumers and financial institutions?

The way people manage their money is changing. Consumers today want more control, more visibility, and more flexibility – not just in how they pay, but in how they plan. That’s where Visa Flexible Credential comes in.

An average Singaporean carries more than five cards in their wallets. Instead of carrying separate cards for debit, credit, or even different currencies, consumers can now switch between funding sources using a single card. For financial institutions, it’s about meeting customers where they are in their financial journey. And that’s ultimately the kind of innovation that sticks – because it works for the user, not just the system.

Visa has also been exploring stablecoins and digital currencies. How does this align with Visa’s broader strategic direction?

Visa’s approach to digital currencies has always been about enabling real-world utility. We are expanding our stablecoin capabilities in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region, partnering with companies like DCS Singapore, dtcpay, and StraitsX to enable stablecoin-backed cards. These partnerships allow users to buy stablecoins with fiat and spend them at Visa-accepting merchants, effectively bridging digital and traditional finance. We aim to make it easier for users to access and utilise stablecoins for everyday purchases, blurring the lines between traditional payment methods and digital assets.

This is also part of a broader shift we’re seeing, where consumers are looking for payment tools that are transparent, flexible, and frictionless.

Visa Intelligent Commerce is an exciting platform for businesses. How does it support innovation for banks and merchants?

AI is fundamentally changing the way consumers discover, decide, and ultimately pay – and Visa Intelligent Commerce is about helping our partners stay ahead, while maintaining the trust that underpins every transaction.

The platform enables a future where AI agents can shop and transact on behalf of users, helping with everything from product discovery to post-purchase management. But it’s not just about automation – it’s about doing it in a way that’s secure, transparent, and personalised. For banks and merchants, this opens up a new frontier of customer engagement.

And because Visa sits at the intersection of security, scale, and innovation – with over 4.8 billion credentials and 150 million merchants globally – we’re uniquely positioned to embed these capabilities safely and at scale.

What role will Visa play in shaping Singapore’s next 60 years?

If there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that technology will keep changing how we live, travel, and pay. Visa’s role is to make that change feel intuitive, secure, and accessible for everyone.

Security is paramount in the digital payment landscape, and Visa plays a crucial role in ensuring that transactions are safe and secure. By implementing advanced security measures and continually innovating, Visa helps build consumer confidence in digital payments.

This trust is essential for the widespread adoption of new payment technologies. Visa remains committed to driving these pillars by providing robust fraud protection, seamless transactions, and a secure payment environment for consumers and businesses alike. Dedication to security and consumer confidence is what makes Visa a trusted leader in the global payments industry.

So as we look toward the future, it’s not just about the technologies themselves, it’s about designing them to be innovative and secure. And Singapore, with its openness to innovation and high expectations around experience, will continue to be one of the places where that future is shaped first.

Finally, if you had to define Visa’s partnership with Singapore in one word or phrase, what would it be – and why?

“Domestically relevant and purposeful.” These words guide the way we run the Singapore business and speaks to the spirit of our partnership, grounded in trust, guided by intention, and always focused on creating meaningful progress.