As Asia’s digital economy accelerates, the demand for faster, smarter, and more secure money movement is redefining the role of commercial payments. No longer confined to back-office infrastructure, these solutions have become critical enablers of growth.

Across the region, the rapid evolution of B2B payments, remittances, and disbursements is reshaping financial flows, now among the most dynamic and high-value in Asia-Pacific. In this transformation, control, transparency, and liquidity are no longer optional; they are strategic imperatives.

No longer just a global giant in consumer card payments, Visa’s identity in the region is transforming as it re-engineers its model around the commercial and cross-border money movement, a shift worth trillions of dollars in transaction value.

In a deep-dive session hosted in Singapore, Visa’s Chavi Jafa, head of commercial and money movement solutions, Asia-Pacific, and Charlotte Le Gargasson, head of B2B partnerships, Asia-Pacific, unpacked the company’s evolving footprint across B2B, remittances, and disbursement flows in Asia for The Asset.

A massive opportunity

Visa’s reorientation is driven by sheer scale. While consumer payments remain foundational, business-to-business ( B2B ), person-to-person ( P2P ), and payout flows represent over US$200 trillion globally, with US$41 trillion in Visa’s immediate sights ( excluding domestic China ). More than half of the world’s remittances intersect Asia, and Visa is placing strong bets on digitizing these corridors.

From corporate travel to supplier payments, the traditionally paper-heavy B2B environment is being “consumerized”.

As is the scenario in personal finance, the post-Covid digital shift and the rise of Gen Z in the workforce are pushing expectations for seamless, app-based payment experiences at work.

Virtual cards

One standout example is Visa’s virtual card solution for small businesses. These dynamic, 16-digit account numbers can be instantly provisioned via mobile phones and customized for merchant type, spend limits, and expiry date.

Instead of handing over a high-limit corporate card, a business owner can now issue tightly controlled and easily calibrated credentials for employee use, with full traceability.

The tech extends beyond spend control: the solution enables automated receipt capture and reconciliation, integrating with expense management systems. This end-to-end solution targets the core pain points of many SMEs with regard to time, cost, and control.

Embedded finance

Le Gargasson also highlights Visa’s SAP integration, allowing businesses to make commercial card payments directly within the Enterprise Resource Planning’s ( ERP ) existing workflow.

It’s embedded finance in action; companies don’t need to toggle systems to execute payments. The value proposition here goes beyond speed; it frees up working capital, especially vital for SMEs potentially navigating volatile supply chains.

In verticals like construction, Visa is partnering with platforms such as Singapore-based fintech Doxa through its Doxa Connex platform.

Subcontractors can now receive payments through virtual sub-accounts funded by the main contractor’s credit line, significantly accelerating disbursements. The result is a new model of supply chain finance that improves liquidity without traditional invoice discounting.

Cross-border

The global payments technology company is also enhancing cross-border money movement through both card and non-card rails. Their multi-currency wallet allows exporters to receive and hold foreign currencies, reducing FX costs and enabling better treasury management.

In South Korea, Visa's collaboration with Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency ( Kotra ) enables SMEs to accept payments via card through a newly built digital platform.

This model delivers secure, accelerated settlements ( within five days ) and democratizes cross-border trade for smaller exporters who previously couldn’t support such infrastructure.

Network to ecosystem

Visa’s expansion into commercial and money movement solutions significantly enhances its data-driven capabilities, especially across B2B transactions. 

This depth of data not only streamlines reconciliation but also creates new opportunities for the company and its banking partners to assess creditworthiness, offer dynamic working capital solutions, and support cash flow optimization.

Jafa also highlights Visa’s ambition to evolve into a “network of networks”. Whether it’s virtual cards, payouts, or remittances, the mission is to connect all relevant endpoints, corporates, SMEs, fintechs, platforms, and governments with secure, scalable solutions.

Banks and fintechs remain crucial enablers, Jafa says, and her firm sees itself as the orchestrator, building the API and security rails that allow embedded payments to flourish across verticals.