Powering Sri Lanka’s digital future: Visa’s vision for tourism, inclusion and growth

Visa Regional President Asia Pacific Stephen Karpin - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara  

As Sri Lanka enters a critical phase of economic recovery and growth to position itself as a destination of choice, Visa—the global payments leader recently announced its deepening engagement through key partnerships and efforts in the country as part of a broader commitment to supporting inclusive economic growth, rooted in trust, advanced technology, innovative solutions and best practices to accelerate progress across sectors. 

In an exclusive interview with the Daily FT, Visa Regional President Asia Pacific Stephen Karpin who visited Sri Lanka for the first time, discussed the company’s strategic priorities in Sri Lanka from partnering with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) to its broader agenda to support the country’s digital transformation, expand financial inclusion for SMEs, promote responsible credit and advanced payment solutions.

Below are excerpts of the interview;

By Charumini de Silva

Q: Visa’s decision to host its Asia Pacific Summit in Sri Lanka is a major vote of confidence. What factors made Sri Lanka the right choice for this flagship event? 

For Visa to truly be the best way to pay and be paid for everyone, everywhere—it is critical that we stay closely connected to the people and businesses we serve. We are an open commerce ecosystem and our leadership team is committed to staying engaged on the ground. This summit is part of that commitment, coming together as a team, alongside our clients, to better understand the context in which they operate. In that backdrop, Sri Lanka is at a very critical stage, especially when it comes to payments. This opportunity represents another important step in a rich journey, one that aligns with the Sri Lankan Government’s priorities around tourism, digitalisation, and financial inclusion. 

We have recognised that there’s still a significant amount of cash circulating in the economy. Visa sees a real opportunity to help digitise the economy in a way that strengthens the economy, enhances security and better connects Sri Lanka with the global marketplace, including through tourism. By being here in Sri Lanka, hearing from stakeholders firsthand and seeing their progress and opportunities ourselves is imperative to a better position to support. I am confident in Avanthi and the team on the ground will deliver Visa’s very best. 

Q:MICE tourism is a competitive space. How does Visa envision helping Sri Lanka differentiate itself as a top-tier MICE destination in Asia?

Indeed. There are several ways we see ourselves contributing. We have learned a lot from supporting similar efforts in other parts of the world and we are now bringing those elements together here in Sri Lanka. One key aspect is our partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). A lot of our focus is on financial literacy and helping small businesses, especially those located along key tourist hotspots to transition from cash to digital payments. Many of them either don’t accept card payments or don’t fully leverage them. We want to ensure they can benefit from being more visible and accessible to international travellers. This extends to digitising the entire travel and payment journey from booking accommodation and convention centres to making everyday purchases. 

Through our global network of partners and issuers, we are able to promote Sri Lanka as a destination whether it is for leisure or business travel. We can help position the country as a location for hosting conventions or bunnies events by integrating it into our global campaigns and offers. Some of these initiatives are already reflected in the commitments outlined in our MoU.  Our approach is not limited to the MICE segment, it certainly includes it. Sri Lanka’s infrastructure is commendable with a well-connected airport, high-quality hotels and resorts, large convention facilities and rich cultural experience that people genuinely want to explore. We are responding to what our clients are prioritising and MICE is one of those areas. Visa believes Sri Lanka is ready to compete on that stage.

Q: Are there partnerships or initiatives in place to support SMEs in the tourism sector?

A: Absolutely. One of the most meaningful contributions we can make globally is through financial inclusion and that includes empowering small businesses with the tools, know-how and infrastructure to accept digital payments. A lot of it comes down to very practical initiatives like helping businesses display that Visa is accepted, assisting them in setting up the right accounts through banks or payment service providers and making the process seamless. The end result is always more customers, transactions and sales. We are working directly with SLTPB’s regional offices to train them on daily applications and conduct online training modules such as personal money management skills and business management. 

Q: Could you elaborate on the key outcomes Visa and SLTPB aim to achieve through this new partnership? What will success look like?

The end result is to ensure more tourists choosing to visit Sri Lanka, which includes both leisure travellers and those coming for MICE events. On the Visa side, we will also be measuring success by looking at activity across our payment network, specifically the number of acceptance points whether B2B or B2C environments. Success will also be tracked across milestones like increased digital payment acceptance, greater financial literacy and broader digital economy that benefits everyone. Sri Lanka seems like a well-kept secret and the world is now beginning to rediscover it. Getting the word out is a big part of our role. Once tourists come and experience Sri Lanka, the flywheel effect kicks in—the word spreads and more people follow.

Q: Visa has been present in Sri Lanka for four decades. How has strategy evolved in response to Sri Lanka’s current economic and digital transformation priorities?

Our strategy has evolved significantly over time and since establishing our office here in 2016, we have built a strong local presence. Based on that we are expanding further to ensure we deliver the best of Visa, to the market especially in response to technological advances, changes in the economy and increasing global connectivity. At the heart of our approach is the goal of digitising payments. Over the years, we have moved from a cash-dominated environment to electronic payments. This shift adds real value in enabling secure transactions, supporting online commerce and allowing international Visa account holders to transact with Sri Lankan businesses. This started gaining momentum in the 2000s and has continued to evolve. 

Today, we are enhancing those transactions with more intelligence, before, during and after they happen. Right now in Sri Lanka, about 50% of face-to-face Visa transactions are top-to-pay and that is a significant progress. The speed and convenience offer real value to both consumers and merchants—but there is still room to grow. The infrastructure is already in place and we expect Sri Lanka to reach levels seen in more advanced tap-to-pay economies like India, where up to 99% of transactions are contactless. Once that level is reached, it will naturally reduce the cash usage, which is currently about 72%. As consumers become more comfortable with digital payments the benefits become clearer and adoption accelerates. 

Visa is investing in next-generation infrastructure, particularly tokenisation, which secures the data travelling across our network and enables the addition of more useful data elements to each transaction. This enhances both security and utility, making digital payments smarter. We are also combining this with developments in generative AI, which is transforming how transactions are initiated and managed. We recently introduced ‘Visa Intelligent Commerce’—a platform that allows Visa credentials to be integrated into AI-powered systems. 

We are also mindful about the limitations and challenges of emerging AI, but these systems are becoming robust. It was only 30 months ago that ChatGTP launched and already we are seeing the potential for massive transformation. These capabilities will eventually become available in Sri Lanka as well and we are committed to ensuring our banking partners here are fully equipped to take advantage of them when the time comes. 

One more area worth highlighting is credit. Once responsible credit is introduced effectively into an economy, it has a multiplier effect that accelerates economic growth—but it must be well managed. We support this through our advisory services and best practices. One product we are excited about is the Visa Flex Credential, which allows issuers to provide credit in a controllable, data-driven way. 

Q: How does Sri Lanka compare to other emerging markets in terms of readiness for a fully digital payments economy?

Sri Lanka compares quite well as it is still heavily cash-based, but rapidly moving toward digitalisation. The country has critical ingredients needed to support this transition such as strong regulatory intent from the Government, a clear desire to digitise the economy and healthy ecosystem including fintechs innovating in the digital commerce space and competitive, capable banks. Additionally, Visa operates in an open payments ecosystem, which is essential. 

In any market, regardless of its size, openness is key to enabling global payers to integrate and innovate. Some markets are more closed in their approach and over time that can become constraint. But what we see in Sri Lanka is an open, collaborative environment which positions it well for accelerated digitalisation. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the foundation is solid and that is exciting.

Q: Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities for Visa in Sri Lanka over the next 3-5 years? 

There are several key opportunities. First continuing the work with our partners to reduce the use of cash in the domestic economy. The goal is to move more payments into digital channels making them faster, safer and transparent. Second, to capitalise on the B2B space particularly in cross-border money movement—whether it is tuition payments for students studying abroad or remittances sent by Sri Lankan expatriates to their families, we see growing demand. We are also focused on digitising Visa accounts beyond physical cars, so people can use Visa credentials through smartphones or other digital devices. We are on the cusp of seeing that shift happen more broadly. All of this is also underpinned by robust risk, fraud and security management, areas where Visa has always maintained a high standard. 

I want to reiterate how deeply committed we are to Sri Lanka and to all our partners here. We are incredibly grateful for the trust they have placed in Visa and we don’t take it for granted. We have been here for nearly four decades and we are here for the long haul. It is a privilege for us to contribute to Sri Lanka’s growth and we are excited about what lies ahead.