PHNOM PENH: Visa, a world leader in digital payments, is introducing resources to help Cambodian merchants, especially small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), take full advantage of Visa’s digital payment solutions to optimise the customer shopping experience and increase sales, particularly in the tourism sector.
This is part of Visa’s commitment to empower Cambodian SMBs and boost tourism, a crucial growth sector for the economy, by helping more merchants offer seamless contactless payments, said the company in a news release dated May 10.
The toolkit, available at https://www.visa.com.kh/en_KH/run-your-business/accept-visa-payments.html, offers merchants detailed, step-by-step instructions in Khmer and English, including a script for cashiers on how to initiate and complete digital payment transactions, it said, adding that the toolkit describes how most Visa cards have the contactless feature as identified by the symbol and includes instructions on how customers can tap the terminal with their card themselves to make payment – an experience preferred by consumers post COVID-19.
According to the news release, Visa’s latest Global Travel Intentions (GTI) study found that 97 percent of Asia Pacific travellers opt to go cashless when travelling, with the number of travelers bringing cash on their trips decreasing by 60 percent post-pandemic. Only 31 percent of respondents brought cash during their travels in 2023, as compared to 79 percent in 2020, reaffirming the growing importance of digital payments in enhancing the overall travel experience.
By partnering with Visa, merchants can leverage the trust inherent in Visa’s brand name, which was named the world’s most valuable payments brand and the sixth most valuable brand in the world. Visa’s enhanced dispute resolution process protects small businesses and consumers through the network’s promise of zero liability for fraud or misuse, building trust and improving the efficiency of Cambodia’s burgeoning digital payments and e-commerce sector.
Contactless payments also help facilitate cross-border transactions, which in turn help bolster Cambodia’s tourism industry, one of the important growth pillars of the country’s economy. Cambodia’s tourism revenue and foreign arrivals more than doubled in 2023 from the previous year.
The Ministry of Tourism recently launched the “Visit Siem Reap 2024” campaign and other tourism-related initiatives to attract more tourists. As part of Visa’s efforts to promote tourism in the country, Visa partners with the Pacific Association of Tourism (PATA) to drive the Tourism Destination Resilience Programme, which aims to build a more resilient and sustainable tourism industry in Cambodia. Today, travellers visiting Cambodia can use their Visa cards at more than 23,500 merchant locations across the country.
“Consumers around the world are shifting to contactless payments because they make transactions fast and secure. The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has been at the forefront of responding to this consumer need through their forward-looking expansion of cross-border linkages in the region,” said Ms. Ivana Tranchini, Visa Country Manager for Cambodia. “Visa is committed to empowering businesses with the latest payment technologies and enabling contactless payments to support the growth of tourism in Cambodia. With our new toolkit, we hope to facilitate the widespread adoption of digital payments among SMBs, addressing the needs of the travel ecosystem and aligning with the preferences of today’s travelers.”
Contactless cards use the same security as chip cards by generating a transaction-specific, one-time-use code, thus protecting payment information. Contactless payments also improve throughput for merchants and reduce the handling of cash, while faster transaction times mean shorter lines and less chance of lost sales. AKP