MANILA: The Visa credit cards usage has added PhP4.6 billion and 3,460 jobs to the Philippine economy from 2011 to 2015 as wealthy Filipinos are leading the growth of online payment transactions in the country, a survey has pointed out.
The survey by Visa Inc. shows that Premium Visa cards are driving electronic payments in the Philippines, making up 46 percent of total payment volume in 2015 despite accounting for only 22 percent of total active cards in the market, reported Manila Bulletin.
The latest Visa study also showed that largest portion of affluent spending goes to retail, 18.70 percent; followed by travel, 18.66 percent; supermarkets, 13.8 percent; restaurants, 6.8 percent; and fuel, 4.68 percent, the report said.
The Visa premium platform consists of Visa Platinum, Visa Signature and Visa Infinite cards issued by nine banks, offering 17 card products.
While the payment volume of all Visa cards grew only by 8.6 percent in 2015, the payment volume of domestic premium Visa cards grew by 33 percent, Manila Bulletin quoted Stuart Tomlinson, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam, as saying.
He also said Visa Platinum, Signature and Infinite cardholders are outspending the average Visa Classic and Gold cardholders by 169 percent.
“The growth of premium card holders are higher and the spending power of affluent Filipinos is much higher that is why we are building platforms to support those signals,” Tomlinson added.
For travel, Asia is the top destination among Filipino travelers, accounting for six out of the ten top destinations by Visa’s payment volume. For instance, travel to Japan by Filipinos increased by 97 percent in 2015, while travel to Thailand grew by 52 percent over the past year.
“The growing affluent are also avid travelers. Visa is confident that our growing premium platform will enable our cardholders to make the most of their travel, providing discerning Filipinos with bespoke benefits they are not even aware are out there,” Tomlinson stressed.
In terms of online payments, Tomlinson admitted the Philippines still has a lot of potentials given that majority of the population is still unbanked.
