Stephen Karpin
Sri Lanka is a fine location for holidaying and Visa is collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism to promote the destination with its fine cuisine, culture and hospitality to the global travel community, said a top official of the global payment leader.
“Visa has been serving Sri Lanka for 37 years and will continue to promote the country for travel and tourism,” said Visa, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Stephen Karpin.
At a media briefing to reaffirm Visa’s support for the promotion of Sri Lanka tourism through the Asia Pacific Leadership Summit in Colombo last week, he said Sri Lanka is a vital strategic market for Visa in the APAC and global business agenda.
Following the Asia Pacific leadership summit which supports the promotion of Sri Lanka’s MICE tourism a memorandum of understanding was struck between Visa and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau affirming Visa’s commitment to Sri Lanka’s digital transformation and economic progress. The partnership aims at positioning Sri Lanka as a top destination for leisure and MICE tourism. Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Buddhika Hewawasam said the partnership with Visa will promote inbound travel, boost tourism spending and digitise key tourism corridors through Visa’s Acceptance solutions.
The collaboration will also empower micro and small businesses in the tourism sector with up-skilling and financial literacy programs. The modules will be developed by Visa and hosted on the SLTB website to provide foundational skills to micro small and medium enterprises.
Visa has been a longstanding ally in enhancing Sri Lanka’s tourism ecosystem. It continues to invest behind influencer-led campaigns targeting travelers, merchant education and branding initiatives to improve digital payments’ adoption in tourism zones.
Visa will be rolling out the ‘Visa Flexible Credential’ a payment innovation that enables consumers to use a single card for payments from multiple funding sources, such as debit, credit, prepaid, and installments.
“The the payment innovation will be introduced to Sri Lanka shortly,” said Visa Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, Avanthi Colombage.
Touching on cyber security and its risks, Karpin said there is never a risk-free payment system in the world. However, the risk element could be minimised by having the expertise and risk management tools.
“Lack of financial literacy is a major shortcoming globally to mitigate financial fraud which is found all over the world over today. Sharing the PIN and passwords are a big mistake,” Karpin said. The payment innovation has been rolled out globally, including in Sri Lanka, and aims to provide consumers with more flexibility and control over their finances.
