MANILA – Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines will get an additional boost in the coming months through Visa’s “Where You Shop Matters” initiative that encourages people to prioritize local products.
Under this program, the global payments technology firm allows small enterprises to utilize its Back to Business Project, an online tool that allows consumers to identify businesses that may be open despite a pandemic or a natural disaster.
In a statement, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam Dan Wolbert said the program is now being used in Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and will be launched in other Asia Pacific markets like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam within the year.
In a reply to queries from PNA, he said the initiative was launched in Australia and New Zealand in 2019, and “it is already benefiting many small businesses across various industries.”
“We're excited to expand this program to the Philippines in the coming months so we can support our local small and medium enterprises in the country," he said.
This program is part of the company’s global campaign to support 10 million small businesses in the Asia Pacific and 50 million small businesses around the globe to help address the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Wolbert said small businesses account for more than half of global employment and are among the hard hit by the health crisis.
Visa also aims to help speed up the use of digital payments without using the regular payment terminals but through mobile phones.
It said about 41 percent of consumers in Asia and the Pacific registered five or more e-commerce transactions in the last three months, and about 75 percent said they will continue to pay through the digital mode instead of using cash even after the pandemic.
Wolbert said, “commerce across the Asia Pacific, including the Philippines, is shifting further into digital in the wake of Covid-19, from more people ordering essentials online to people looking for secure, touchless ways to pay in person.”
“Visa’s role as a payments network means we can help SMEs adapt to these new ways of managing and growing their business, ensuring that these crucial players can recover,” he added. (PNA)
