Visa eyes expanded tap-to-pay services at 7-Eleven stores

Payments platform provider Visa Philippines is looking to roll out tap-to-pay services for its cards in the majority of 7-Eleven stores nationwide by March 2026, as it expands a service launched earlier this year.

According to Visa Philippines country manager Jeffrey Navarro, the company has currently about 700 7-Eleven stores in the country offering tap-to-pay for Visa cards.

This number is expected to rise to 1,000 by the end of the year and cover most outlets by the first quarter of 2026, he said.

“We’re trying to see if we can do it in the first quarter. That’s the plan. I feel like if you cover 80% of that, then generally it’s there," Navarro said in an interview in Makati City.

"We’ve never had it in the past, right? So we’re already happy if they hit 1,000 by the end of the year,” he added.

He expressed optimism over the strong performance its expanded partnership with 7 Eleven.

“Ultimately, it’s really between the acquirer and the merchant. We can only push and encourage, because we’ve already opened it up, so everyone is working towards scaling as quickly as they can,” he added.

Visa earlier rolled out tap-to-pay services in 7-Eleven stores in partnership with Philippine Seven Corp., allowing customers to pay using their Visa debit and credit cards.

Based on 2024 Visa data, which covers card-present transactions accounting for about 60% of total transactions, payment volumes rose 8% year-on-year in December 2024.

Spending peaked on December 23 before easing afterward.

“Throughout the months of a particular year, it doesn’t actually change what Filipinos are buying, because it’s mainly driven by retail goods, food and groceries, and QSRs (quick-service restaurants). It’s the same trend throughout the years,” said Josh Bosinos, Visa Philippines head of data analytics.

Spending by users with Visa cards issued by Philippine banks peaked on December 29, the data showed.

Tourists spent the most in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Cebu, and Davao, with the top inbound tourist corridors coming from the United States, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

The top countries of origin of inbound tourists — those using Visa cards issued by non-Philippine banks — were the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.

Their biggest spending categories were lodging, entertainment, food and groceries, and education and government services.

“For the purpose of this data story, we wanted to focus on the key behaviour of Filipinos during the festive season, which is mainly driven by face-to-face transactions. We wanted to show what in-person spending looks like in the Philippines at this time of year,” Bosinos said.—MCG, GMA Integrated News