Visa upbeat on Sri Lanka’s prospects for 2023 and beyond

• Says tourism will underpin very significant part of recovery agenda
• Asserts businesses should be able to provide variety of payment options as consumers are accustomed to in their home countries 
• Highlights need to invest and enhance digital infrastructure so that transactions are made seamless 

• By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Visa, one of the world’s biggest leaders in digital payments, sounded upbeat about Sri Lanka as it expects “great momentum” in 2023.

As measures are being taken to reduce the shocks faced by the ongoing crisis, and with efforts taken to move the country towards recovery, a visiting Visa official expressed confidence in Sri Lanka bringing in the necessary elements to improve its digital infrastructure framework.

“We are very optimistic about Sri Lanka as a market. We think there is some great momentum going into 2023 and beyond,” said Visa SVP Head of Risk Asia Pacific Joe Cunningham in a discussion with the media in Colombo yesterday.

The senior official was in the country to attend the Visa Sri Lanka Security Summit 2023.

Cunningham pointed out that tourism will underpin a very significant part of Sri Lanka’s recovery agenda.

Improvements seen in international tourism arrivals to the country should be bolstered by safe, and secure digital payments, he said.

“Tourists predominantly create experiences and memories, partaking in the local culture, cuisine, and other activities. To make the entire holiday experience memorable, it’s critical to have seamless, secure, and simple payments.

Therefore, businesses should be able to provide a variety of payment options as consumers are accustomed to in their home countries – be it cards, tap and pay/contactless payments, QR code payments, and online/ecommerce payments among others,” said Cunningham.

Efforts have been taken by the government in this regard as it did call upon the finance sector to help facilitate payments for foreign tourists in multiple payment methods to ease their experience.
Cunningham stressed that to fully reap the benefits of the improvements seen in the inflow of tourists, Sri Lanka must invest in digital infrastructure to attract more international visitors and revenue.

Smooth and secure payments go a long way in winning consumer trust, especially with tourists unfamiliar with Sri Lanka. It will make consumers confident about in-store purchase experiences and aid positive sentiment for the country, noted the Visa official.

“Increased tourism complemented with robust payments infrastructure will aid the recovery of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which is the backbone of the SL economy,” said Cunningham.